National’s increase is covered from book opening

By Yiannis Papadoyiannis

The international investment community’s interest in National Bank’s share capital increase was exceptionally high on Tuesday, resulting in the oversubscription for the shares of 2.5 billion euros in total from the first day of book building, according to sources.

The book, open only to foreign investors, will close on Thursday with the determination of the share price. Analysts expect it to range between 2.10 and 2.60 euros.

The bank’s mission, led by the group’s alternate chief executive Petros Christodoulou, returned from its international roadshow late on Tuesday. Members of the mission expressed satisfaction with the interest that quality investors such as traditional institutional portfolios had shown. Expectations suggest the issue will be oversubscribed several times.

The bank will hold an extraordinary general meeting on Saturday to approve the share issue and ratify the share price.