Co-op takeover ‘a good deal’ for HB

will absorb a large chunk of the bad assets of the banking system, thus helping with their resolution.

“This is a step that it is now possible to take despite the additional debt burden that it creates. The debt will increase but the underlying debt dynamics will not change. The declining trend will remain,” said Tirkides.

He said the biggest part of the remaining NPL problem is a legacy problem and cannot be handled without an adequate and better balanced regulatory framework.

“It is not a matter of protecting the most vulnerable. That we will do. It is a matter of an effective and well-balanced framework that promotes the resolution of nonperforming loans.”

Hellenic will be handling the country’s biggest deposit portfolio amounting to EUR 9-10 bln, coupled with acquiring a portfolio of EUR 4.5 bln in good loans, which will see its NPL ratio drop significantly.

It is expected that Altamira, which had managed part of CCB’s NPLs, will play a role in managing the NPLs.

The NPL managing body is to initially take over the hefty EUR 6.3 bln NPL portfolio belonging to the CCB.

To this end, the Finance Ministry is in daily contact with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition, to ensure the necessary approvals. The Commission requested involvement of private funds in the body. formula on how to cover the capital increase with some of the existing shareholders holding back.

According to sources close to the procedure quoted by Phileleftheros daily, the investment fund J.C. Flowers withdrew its interest to participate in HB’s new shareholder structure on Thursday.

According to the same sources, the fund did not approve of the agreement with the government and had reservations about the ‘day after’.

Reportedly, Demetra Investment, one of the bank’s existing shareholders, is one of the contributors in the capital raise, investing EUR 50 mln with its stake reaching 29.3% from the current 10%.

Pimco is also expected to invest EUR 50 mln with a 19% stakeholding. It was not known who invested the other EUR 50 mln needed.

Meanwhile,

two

of

HB’s

existing shareholders did not seem willing to participate in the capital increase. Wargaming, with 24.9% of shares and the investment fund Third Point (26.2%) did not show interest, which is expected to lead to their share percentage being halved.

Reportedly, other investment funds, such as Atlas, which had expressed interest in participating in the new share structure, laid down tough preconditions.

Hellenic had announced that any increase in its share capital was subject to the approval of its shareholders. The bank has scheduled an annual general meeting of shareholders for July 11.