HFSF

Bank bailout fund HFSF has said that it will not accept bids below 7.55 euros per share in an equity offering of National Bank of Greece, citing strong demand by investors.

HFSF is selling a 10% stake in National Bank, the country's second largest bank by market value, through a book-building process and a public offer in Athens which ended at 3 p.m.

The agreement between bank bailout fund HFSF and Thrivest Holdings for the merger of Attica Bank with Pancreta is the "optimal solution for the Greek state, with a view to both ensuring financial stability and the benefit of the taxpayer," central banker Yannis Stournaras told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday.

Eurobank won shareholder approval on Thursday to buy back the 1.4% stake in the group held by Greece's bank bailout fund, a move that would end state participation in the country's largest lender.

Greece will start selling stakes in its four largest banks this fall, sector officials and bankers said on Monday, marking the latest milestone in the country's recovery from the financial meltdown it suffered starting in 2009.

The managing director of the HFSF bank bailout fund, Anastasia Sakellariou, is seen on her way to visit Deputy Prime Minister Yiannis Dragasakis on Friday.

Marcus Bensasson, Nikos Chrysoloras & Christos Ziotis

Greece is unlikely to have to inject more money into its banks during the European bank stress tests this year, helping to boost the nation’s public finances, top executives at the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund said.

Local banks need to make a fast return to private hands, Alpha Bank CEO Dimitrios Mantzounis stressed while addressing the lender’s general meeting on Friday. Vassilios Rapanos, the bank’s president, referred to a need for stability and the implementation of reforms.