Alpha Bank insists on saying "No"

Developments confirm the reports that protothema.gr presented earlier, that the National Bank is standing by its proposal, which it regards as particularly attractive, while the administration of Alpha Bank gave an answer through a letter by its President G. Kostopoulos to the bank’s employees. As stated: “The decision that the Board came to, took into account the best interests of shareholders, employees and customers of the bank. Of course, also taken into account were the uncertainty that the situation creates, the contents of the proposal and its terms, which were ultimately judged as financially unsound.

Speaking in a conference call, the management of National Bank (A. Tamvakakis, A. Thomopoulos, P. Milonas, G. Papagrigoris), described the offer as attractive, indicating that the synergies from such a merger will reach 700 million euro, while the unified shape with over 1000 bank locations and a presence in several markets abroad, will be able to compete for a place among the top 25 banking groups in Europe.

The management of the National Bank stated that the Alpha Bank bid is, and will remain friendly, and among other things it reflects “our respect for the Alpha Bank administration”.

The issue was addressed in Reuters by Bank of Piraeus President, Mr. Michalis Sallas: “I find that if both sides work things out, it would be a positive development for the broader economy and the banking industry in Greece as a whole”

ASE “sees red”

The stock market “saw red” after Mr. G. Kostopoulos’ letter which put an end, however brief, to the discussions between Alpha Bank and National Bank.

Even after the information given by National Bank on the benefits of the merger, the letter put the brakes on all discussion, creating the ultimate “confinement” for everyone who had bought shares the day before yesterday at  +12-15%.

All the shares that jumped ahead of schedule punished the buyers who picked them with intense liquidations. The General Index had been progressively declining from 2pm onwards, while shares of National Bank and Alpha Bank kept their positive function. In the end, the Index closed at 1668.25 points, dropping by 2.73%.

Eurobank showed losses of more than 8%, MIG, TT and Piraeus Bank lost 10.16% with a circulation of 12 million pieces. The Bank of Cyprus dropped by 6.44%, potentially heading for a convertible bond.

Titan rose by 1.44% and Jumbo gained 0.33%, among all companies in the ASE20.

Total transactions amounted to 258 million euro. The ten-year bond spread rose to over 850 units.