Almost three months after taking over as first vice-president of Alpha Bank, Stere Farmache, who had previously run the Bucharest Stock Exchange for over 14 years, says competition in the banking system is very intensive and keeps you vigilant at all times. "Here, as opposed to the Stock Exchange, competition is rife. One has to be permanently alert, and always be competitive. With the Stock Exchange, competition is at an European level," Farmache told ZF in an interview. Farmache, 53, has replaced Evangelos Kalamakis at the helm of Alpha, after the latter took over the group's Corporate Banking International Division, in Athens. As first vice-president of Alpha Bank, Farmache is in charge of the treasury, investment banking, the compliance department, the chief economist department and the corporate sector. "Activity in the bank complements my experience in the financial sector. I saw the proposal I have received and accepted as a challenge, which adds to the experience I have accumulated on the capital market," says Farmache. According to him, before accepting the Greeks' offer, he had also received propositions from other banks, as well as from international financial institutions.