Sale of stake in Finansbank ‘as soon as possible’
Turkey’s Finansbank, 95 percent-owned by National Bank of Greece (NBG), will complete a capital increase and secondary public offering of as much as 20 percent ‘as soon as possible,’ its chairman, Omer Aras, said yesterday. Earlier this week, NBG chose six banks as advisers and underwriters for the sale of a stake in its Turkish subsidiary aimed at raising about 1 billion euros. NBG intends to keep its stake above 75 percent. Finansbank accounts for about a third of National’s profits. The Turkish and Greek economies are heading in opposite directions at the moment. Finansbank also said yesterday that third-quarter profits more than doubled, as losses from derivatives declined and commission income increased. Net income was 216 million liras (109.8 million euros) compared with 96.6 million liras in the third quarter of last year, it said in a filing with the Istanbul Stock Exchange.
