HFSF sees holding in banks drop
The HFSF bank bailout fund has reduced its combined stakes in the country’s four systemic lenders thanks to the share capital increases and the exercise of acquisition rights, known as warrants.
At Thursday’s prices, the current value of its holdings in National Bank, Alpha, Eurobank and Piraeus stands at 18.5 billion euros. In the context of the first recapitalization, the HFSF placed about 25 billion euros through the share capital increases of the four main banks. At the end of March the value of the HFSF shares had reached 25.1 billion euros, while at the end of last year it had stood at 22.6 billion.
The fund’s quarterly financial report for the January-March period showed that the total revenues of the HFSF came to almost 1.45 billion euros, mainly through the favorable valuations of its stock portfolio and the negative impact of the increase in warrant valuations. Revenues from interest amounted to 19 million euros, mostly from the bonds of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF).
The HFSF’s cash reserves expanded to 533 million euros, showing a considerable 489-million-euro increase from the last quarter of 2013, due to the recovery of resources from the liquidation of the assets of the banks that have been placed in a state of resolution. The investment portfolio of the HFSF, not including interest, amounted to 10.93 billion euros.
