Piraeus Bank happy with Dutch deal
Piraeus Bank is making speedy progress in the implementation of a strategic partnership agreement with Holland’s Internationale Nederlanden Groep (ING), the Greek firm said in a press release yesterday. The two banks have finalized two company schemes, one for bancassurance and group insurance and another for asset management, said the statement, and are currently pursuing the legal procedures required for approval by regulators. The joint ventures are slated to begin operations on September 1, after completion of all legal procedures. The two partners have also agreed on the appointment of David Knibbe as head of the bancassurance and group insurance firm and Haris Makkas to head asset management. Piraeus Bank recently completed negotiations with ING group insurance member Nationale Nederlanden, whose Greek network will begin providing retail facilities for the bank’s services next month, according to the statement. The two sides have also decided against the absorption of ING’s four existing Greek branches by Piraeus. «The future operations of ING Bank in Greece will be reviewed as soon as possible,» said the statement. The two banks are also in the process of implementing a share swap scheme. Shareholders will be asked in Piraeus Bank’s forthcoming annual general assembly to approve a share capital increase and the abolition of preferential rights for old shareholders, paving the way for the acquisition by ING’s two Greek members, Nationale Nederlanden’s (NN) life and general insurance subsidiaries, of a 5-percent stake in Piraeus. The plan also involves share capital increases by the two insurance firms themselves, with a 70-million-euro cash payment by parent company ING Continental Europe Holdings BV. The latter will then transfer 20 percent of the shares of its two subsidiaries to Piraeus Bank. These moves are expected to be completed by June 20. NN currently holds a 14-percent share in the Greek life insurance market, while Piraeus has an 8-percent share in the local banking industry. Together, they account for an 8-percent share of the Greek asset management sector and number some 300 retail outlets. Both parties have in the past been reported to be interested in a possible privatization of the Agricultural Bank of Greece (ATE), which, despite problems, has two sound insurance subsidiaries.
