“Right now, the most prominent scenario is to attempt a sale of just a small part of the share at a premium price and, by the end of the year, sell the rest of it,” a person that is in a position to know told the press.

“Members are deeply concerned, as they do the best for Laiki’s creditors and no one wants to take the blame for selling at a discount,” the same person said.

At the same time, the resolution authority is about to assign advisers for the Investment Bank of Greece. This is the most attractive of all the former Popular bank’s subsidiaries and the resolution authority wants to make sure that the procedure will be transparent.

The bank is clean of non-performing loans, has an EU passport allowing it to move anywhere in Europe and has a proven profit record in a country that has been in deep financial crisis since 2010.

Members of Laiki’s former depositor association SYKALA, have been adding pressure on the resolution authority not to sell IBG and the shares in BOC, hoping that the value of these assets will increase over time.

Meanwhile, the resolution authority is running aprocess for the sale of shares totalling 49% that Laiki has in Lombard Bank of Malta.

“Lombard Bank Malta is a solvent bank and the resolution authority wants what is best for the bank, its shareholders and Laiki’s creditors”.

At the same time, Laiki legacy is about to implement a new process for Marfin Romania after the deal with Bank of Beirut fell through. According to sources within Laiki, there is still great interest for Marfin.

“There are four to five serious investors that have expressed their interest and Laiki has to persuade Romanian authorities to allow more time,” the same source said.

Marfin Romania needs more capital and, if the legacy does not come to an agreement with an investor soon, regulators in Romania could proceed on their own, clearing the subsidiary.

As for Laiki’s subsidiary in Ukraine, a person involved in the sale process expressed his belief that “next month Legacy will be in a position to announce its sale”.

Source: InCyprus