Traditionally the island’s third biggest lender, prior to the collapse of Laiki Popular Bank in 2013, Hellenic has transformed itself from a conservative bank to “a very different and stronger bank with robust capital base and liquidity”, using its own words.

The board decided on Monday to restructure the share capital of the bank through a reverse stock split, as well as a share-bonus package for executive officers, including CEO Bert Pijls.

Only last week, the bank listed 87.4 million new shares that emerged from the unexercised rights, which had not been covered by the issue last November that will probably be used as part of the share remuneration scheme.

In all, the bank raised a further €204 million from its recent capital share increase, covering 92% of the target set, in addition to the €100 million raised from Third Point, Wargaming and local investment fund Demetra in early 2014 that rescued the bank from a state-sponsored bailout or bail-in of depositors.

With the completion of its share capital increase, the bank’s Common Equity Tier 1 ratio presently stands at 12.8%.

Source: Financial Mirror