National Bank of Greece

The National Bank of Greece Group on Friday announced the completion of a transaction for the disposal of a nonperforming, predominantly secured, corporate loan portfolio to the investment firm Bain Capital Credit for a total principal amount of 1.6 billion euros.

Greece raised 2 billion euros ($2.43 billion) by reopening a 30-year bond through a private placement with two Greek banks, according to the official government gazette, the first borrowing action for 2021.

National Bank of Greece and Piraeus Bank participated in the transaction. The Greek debt agency issued a 30-year bond last year through a private placement.

National Bank of Greece (NBG) announced on Tuesday that it had entered into a definite agreement with Bain Capital Credit for the sale of a Romanian-risk corporate nonperforming exposures portfolio ("Project Danube") with a total gross book value of around 174 million euros.

As of January, Greek banks will implement reduced installment programs for well-serviced loans of those affected by the pandemic - businesses and households - that had been frozen since last April. 

The announcement came on Tuesday as the nine-month banking "moratoriums" gradually begin to expire at the end of December.

National Bank of Greece (NBG) on Tuesday reported sharply lower net profit in the fourth quarter compared to July-to-September on the back of weaker trading and net interest income and higher provisions for impaired loans.

European Investment Bank (EIB) president Werner Hoyer announced ambitious plans for major investments in Greece in 2020 during a visit to Athens for talks with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Finance Minister Christos Staikouras and other government officials today.

Partnership with National Bank of Greece, Piraeus Bank

Piraeus Bank, Greece's largest lender by assets, on Wednesday opened books for a 10-year Tier 2 bond issue, aiming to raise about 500 million euros ($546 million), a source close to the deal said.
"Piraeus Bank is opening books for a 10-year issue, aiming at about 500 million euros," the source told Reuters.
Pricing is seen in the low 6 percent range, the source added.

EximBank has finalized the acquisition of Banca Romaneasca SA (BROM), with the submitted bid being part of the agreement concluded in June 2019 between EximBank and National Bank of Greece (NBG) on the purchase of the latter's 99.28 percent stake in BROM, the bank said in a release.

The Greek banking system has radically changed over the past two decades. Mergers and acquisitions had already begun in the late 1980s, but it was two significant events 20 years ago that marked the beginning of a process that has led to the consolidation of the country's banking sector in the dominant "big four" (Alpha Bank, Eurobank, National Bank of Greece and Piraeus Bank).

The management of NBG Property Services, the sector's largest company with a property portfolio worth over 2 billion euros, has decided to raise 500 million in new capital on the Athens Stock Exchange.
The new capital will help with the development of existing properties and the acquisition of new ones.