Piraeus Bank SA

By John Glover

Bonds of Greece?s banks extended declines, with notes of National Bank of Greece SA falling to a record, after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras reiterated his government?s rejection of the country?s bailout program.

By Nikos Chrysoloras and Elisa Martinuzzi

Greek banks plummeted in Athens trading Thursday after the European Central Bank restricted direct access to its funding lines, forcing the nation?s lenders to rely on emergency funds.

Piraeus Bank SA on Thursday approved the repurchase of its preferred shares from the Greek state and approved cancellation of these preferred shares in order to decrease its share capital by 750 million euros.

[Reuters]

Piraeus Bank SA has issued 1.58 billion euros of loans for environmentally friendly projects since 2007, boosting jobs and helping the lender’s bottom line, bank officials said.

The effort has generated some of the bank’s lowest rates of nonperforming loans throughout Greece’s economic crisis, said Vrasidas Zavras, head of green banking at the Athens-based lender.

Piraeus Bank SA has made 1.58 billion euros ($2.1 billion) of loans on environmentally friendly projects since 2007, boosting jobs and helping the lender’s bottom line, bank officials said.

Bank of America Corporation’s Merrill Lynch unit said in a report issued on Tuesday that the recent decline in share prices at the Greek bourse offers value as Greek banking recovers and that there is no prospect for an early general election before March 2015, when the Parliament’s likely inability to elect a new president to replace Karolos Papoulias will lead to a parliamentary poll.

Piraeus Bank SA (TPEIR) sold its 9.9 percent stake in Athens Water Supply & Sewage Co SA (EYDAP) to Paulson & Co SA for 86.3 million euros ($120 million), according to a Piraeus Bank official who asked not to be identified in line with policy.

Nikos Chrysoloras & Christos Ziotis

Greek lenders’ success last month in raising funds from foreign investors shows the government can reach its goal of returning to bond markets, said George Provopoulos, the country’s central-bank chief.

By Christos Ziotis & Nikos Chrysoloras

International investors have started placing money into Greek banks as they anticipate the improving economy will boost profits across the industry, Michalis Sallas, chairman of Piraeus Bank SA, said.

By Nikos Chrysoloras & Eleni Chrepa

Alpha Bank SA and Piraeus Bank SA (TPEIR) raised 2.95 billion euros ($4.07 billion) in new capital from foreign investors in the latest sign Greek lenders are bouncing back from the world’s biggest sovereign debt crisis that pushed them into isolation from international money markets.