ECONOMY

Greek bank recap ‘progressing’

After meeting on Thursday, Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras and Bank of Greece Governor Giorgos Provopoulos confirmed that the recapitalization process in the local credit sector was progressing, and stressed that all four systemic banks will have reached the necessary decisions for their share capital increases by the end of this month, in accordance with the timetable.

National, Alpha, Eurobank and Piraeus are in the process of searching for private investors to cover at least 10 percent of their recapitalization needs.

Stournaras and Provopoulos also discussed issues connected to the formation of a strategy for restructuring the banking system.

In cooperation with the representatives of the country’s international creditors, the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF), the Bank of Greece and the Finance Ministry will have to have agreed on the strategy for the whole of the credit sector, including the smaller banks, by the end of July.

Piraeus Bank announced on Thursday that its crucial general shareholders meeting had been postponed until Tuesday, as the turnout at Thursday’s meeting was insufficient. The aim of the meeting is to secure approval for the bank’s share capital increase.

The lender also announced on Thursday the sale of one of the group’s two banks in Romania, ATEbank Romania, to local entrepreneur Dorinel Umbrarescu, who is the head of a construction group.

Piraeus’s 93.27 percent stake in the Romanian unit was sold for 10.3 million euros, and the transaction will be completed once most of ATEbank Romania’s assets have been transferred to Piraeus Bank Romania SA.

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