Hellenic Financial Stability Fund

This time the bulk of stocks at Athinon Avenue produced a strong reaction on Thursday to the decline of previous days, unlike the weak rebound of Wednesday. The main index reversed a significant portion of its recent losses, even if banks did fail to impress with their recovery on the day.

The streamlining of Attica Bank and its merger with Pancreta Bank will require a new share capital increase, which according to information will possibly even reach 600 million euros.

The Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF) is one step before the complete divestment from Greece's four systemic banks, after the successful sale of all the shares it owned in Piraeus Bank.

Greece's bank bailout fund (HFSF) on Wednesday set the price for the sale of its 27% holding in Piraeus Bank at 4 euros per share, valuing the stake at €1.35 billion.

The sale, part of a wider re-privatization of Greek banks bailed out during the debt crisis, attracted strong demand and was more than eight times oversubscribed, a source told Reuters.

The Greek market saw a 15-year record in acquisitions of Greek companies in 2023, according to a report by PwC Greece on Wednesday.

The extra strong interest in the placement of the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund's stake in Piraeus Bank, displayed from the first day, on Monday, has led to the sale of the entire holding of the state in the lender and at the top end of the price range, as offers exceeded 6 billion euros.

Greek banks eye dividends on a par with the European average in the coming years, pointing to the high profitability fueled by higher interest rates and clearing their balance sheets of bad loans.

Financial consultants UBS, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America are conducting critical consultations on the intentions of potential investors in relation to the price they are willing to pay for 27% of Piraeus Bank on behalf of bank bailout fund HFSF. 

Greece will proceed with the complete divestment of the state from Piraeus Bank with the disposition of the 27% it controls through the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF).

The results announced by Piraeus Bank for 2023 and the publication of the business plan for the next three years, which provides for record profits of 1 billion euros per year for the period 2024-2026, are key arguments in favor of the full divestment of the state from the lender where bank bailout fund HFSF controls 27%.