By limiting the preemptive rights of its existing shareholders Attica Bank the issue of increasing the authorized capital of the bank is being considered, with a view to its entry prosper in the planned 473.3 million euros AMC at the end of March and the issuance of warrants.

The existing shareholders’ ownership is currently 69.5% for HFSF, 20.11% for TMEDE (after the return of shares held by RINOA, which corresponded to 8.08% of Attica Bank) and 8.39% for EFKA, but according to the information the structure The AMK is the subject of an agreement to be entered into with new potential Thrivest investors. It is expected that the final decisions on the basis of which participation rates will be determined will be made in the coming days after the completion of due diligence conducted by potential new investors.

The decision to under-execute the pre-emptive rights held by current shareholders ensures that new investors enter without “bargaining” on the share price on the board, which has been an occasion for speculative gambling in the past, according to complaints. It should be noted that in the last 10 days, stocks have been declining.

This decision, on the one hand, photographs TMEDE, which today, after the termination of the agreement with Ellington’s investment capital, receives an increased percentage. Similarly, this can be extended to e-EFKA, whose participation in the equity of Attica Bank is a product of “coercion” in the context of an attempt to save the bank during the previous AMC 2021. The big problem is the participation of HFSF in AMC, fully covering its existing rights that correspond to a percentage of 69.5%, or if it leaves room for greater participation of new investors. The equation should also include the prospect of a new share capital increase, which has been discounted to fully consolidate the bank, whose NPLs are €2.6bn, raising the NPL ratio to 67%. Yesterday, Attica Bank management submitted a prospectus for AMK’s shares for approval, and now the time to close the deal is going down again as the upside schedule starts to narrow again. With parallel bank consolidation processes, the gradual withdrawal of investments from bonds issued under securitization, as well as the sale of the portfolio, contributes. The divestment outlook concerns the senior securities of the Omega and Metexelixis portfolios totaling €1.3 billion and €670 million, respectively, which were securitized with investors Ellington and Pimco. The sale of the €320 million Astir 1 portfolio is also moving forward immediately, for which preliminary contacts with potential investors have been initiated and are expected to be completed by Easter. As Attica Bank management announced, the revised business plan calls for a return to operating profitability at the end of 2024.

Potential new shareholders, who already control Pankritia Bank, prefer, if the agreement is implemented, the merger of the two banks – Pankritia and Attica – in order to create a new pole in the category of non-systemic banks, a scenario that involves, on the one hand, the complete consolidation of both banks, and with the other, their greater involvement in new financing, the expansion of a healthy portfolio.