Eurobank approves HFSF stake buyback

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.

State-controlled bailout fund HFSF acquired stakes in the country's four largest banks in return for injecting about 50 billion euros to recapitalize the lenders during the country's decade-long financial crisis.

"We will be the first bank without state participation," Eurobank CEO Fokion Karavias told a shareholders' meeting on Thursday.

Eurobank said it plans to offer between €1.10 and €1.90 per share to buy the stake back from HFSF.

Officials told Reuters earlier this week that HFSF's stake in Eurobank will be the first to be put up for sale in the fall. [Reuters]