Report suggests that EFG Eurobank may increase its stake in Hellenic Post Bank
The country’s second-largest lender EFG Eurobank may raise its stake in smaller state-run rival Hellenic Post Bank (TT), Eurobank’s deputy chief said in comments published yesterday. Eurobank last month raised its stake in TT to 5.7 percent as part of its investment plans, while the government, which holds about a 45 percent stake, has said it plans to sell a further stake this year as part of its privatization plans. «Our participation in TT may increase,» Eurobank’s Deputy Chief Executive Nick Karamouzis said in an interview in Sunday’s Eleftheros Typos newspaper. «The investment in TT is purely financial.» «There is no plan to proceed with a hostile takeover or anything like that. We do not care to merge with another bank.» Greek media have said in the past, without citing sources, that Eurobank was looking at holding a major stake in TT if the government sold part of its stake. «If and when the issue of a further state asset sale in TT comes up, we will examine it and evaluate whether we’ll take part in the procedure,» Karamouzis said.
