Greek bank bailout fund plans exit route out of lenders

The Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF) on Wednesday announced the completion of the updating process for its divestment strategy, according to a 2010 law.

All interested parties are in agreement and it has been approved by the Finance Ministry, it said in a statement.

The divestment strategy adheres to the principles defined in the legal framework governing the operation of the HFSF as well as all relevant legal and regulatory provisions.

The current HFSF legal framework elevates the divestment objective to a par with the fund’s other objective, namely its contribution to the maintenance of Greek banking system financial stability for the sake of public interest and sets year-end 2025, the fund’s expiration date, as the timeline of its completion.

The fund will expend all reasonable efforts to dispose of all its shares in the Greek systemic banks before its end date, in an orderly manner, in line with its objective to maintain financial stability while ensuring that it receives fair market value.

The sale of shares in any of the Greek systemic banks is fully consistent with the HFSF’s responsibility to promote financial stability and reflects the progress of the banking sector in addressing past weaknesses and achieving sustainable profitability.