Emporiki

A Council of State decision gives certain bank employees the right to retire with a full pension without having reached the official retirement age (67), on the sole condition that they have fulfilled the necessary number of years of service.

Adamantios Pepelasis, a Greek economics professor who taught at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, the University of California and the Athens University of Economics and Business, died on Saturday at the age of 95.

Even if the Government with the insurance law of Katrougalos has imposed cuts in ancillary pensions, the abolishment of EKAS, an increased deduct contribution and 11 in total ways to cut the pension of hundreds of thousands of pensioners, the deficit of IKA has doubled because of the reduction of the state funding and the income decrease.

Georgios Michelis, a former executive at Emporiki Bank, is on track to become chairman of Greece?s bank rescue fund, according to two euro-area officials.

The governing board of Alpha Bank Cyprus agreed on Monday to the acquisition of Emporiki Cyprus, the subsidiary of Greece’s Emporiki Bank which has been absorbed by the Alpha Group.

Alpha Bank Cyprus will acquire 100 percent of Emporiki’s shares, with the two banks merging through Alpha’s absorption of Emporiki.

Alpha Bank, Greece's fourth biggest lender, opened a voluntary redundancy offer on Monday with a view to cutting 15 percent of its workforce to cut costs under a restructuring plan approved by the EU Commission, an official at the bank said on Monday.

European Union state aid regulators cleared on Wednesday the restructuring of Greece's Alpha Bank by downsizing its international operations, saying it would ensure the lender's viability.