Three-way merger on the table
The Finance Ministry is examining the prospect of merging ATEbank, Hellenic Postbank (TT) and the Loans and Deposit Fund. Finance Minister Giorgos Papaconstantinou presented the idea to Socialist MPs yesterday, adding that the country’s lenders – the International Monetary Fund and European Commission – had asked that ATEbank be shut down. Ministry sources stressed that no final decision on a three-way merger has been made. Meanwhile, TT announced yesterday it swung to a nine-month net loss of 53.69 million euros on wide trading losses and high provisions. »Hellenic Postbank achieved a third-quarter pretax profit of 25 million euros on good organic profitability… supported by good cost control,» said Cleon Papadopoulos, TT’s chairman.
