Greece is unlikely victor in bank selldown race

National Bank of Greece

03/10/2024 10:33

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist.  The opinions
expressed are his own.)
    By Liam Proud
       LONDON, Oct 3 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Athens sold 10%
of National Bank, effectively ending the privatisation of the
major lenders it rescued. Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and
Ireland still own bank stakes. Greeks can thank continued
government support and a strong economy, fuelled by rising
investment.
        
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    CONTEXT NEWS
Greece on Oct. 3 effectively completed the re-privatisation of
its major lenders with the sale of a 10% stake in National Bank
of Greece.
    The state-controlled Hellenic Financial Stability Fund
offloaded 91.5 million shares in Greece's second-largest bank by
market value, at a sale price of 7.55 euros per share, or
roughly 0.9 times the lender's estimated 2024 tangible book
value.
    HFSF, launched in 2010, began divesting its stakes in
Greece's four largest lenders in 2023 having injected about 50
billion euros to prop them up during the euro zone debt crisis.
    HFSF will, by the end of 2024, transfer a remaining 8.4%
stake in National Bank to Greece's sovereign wealth fund.

 (Editing by Aimee Donnellan and Streisand Neto)
 ((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can
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liam.proud@thomsonreuters.com))