The Greek government's plan for the 50 billion euro (63.5 billion U.S. dollars) recapitalization of the ailing local banking sector as part of efforts to lift Greece out the of debt crisis was met by mixed reactions by bank officials, analysts and opposition parties in Athens on Tuesday.

Under the terms unveiled in a Finance Ministry statement, Greek banks will be recapitalized via the issuance of common shares, convertible bonds and warrants in order to cover losses from the "haircut" of part of the sovereign debt burden last March.

According to the framework of the program targeting a core Tier 1 capital ratio of 6 percent, shares will be offered at a discount of some 50 percent from the average price over the 50 trading days before the sale to private investors and the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF).

Bonds will be paying a 7 percent interest rate and will be converted to shares after five years, while warrants will be used for the purchase of shares from the HFSF, which will underwrite the sales.

As Athens awaits the next 31.5 billion euro tranche of bailout aid from International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Union lenders -- of which about 25 billion euros will be used for the banking sector recapitalization -- mixed views were expressed over the plan.

Greek authorities intend to use 50 billion euros from the bailout aid to boost the sector in the context of efforts to avoid a default and exit from the euro which could destabilize global economy. The country's four largest lenders have already received an 18 billion euro boost in May.

The recapitalization program encourages long-term investments by lenders who believe in the positive prospect of a recovering Greek economy after 2017, some Greek bank officials commented to local media.

Other bank officials and analysts such as Yannis Papadoyannis writing in local newspaper Kathimerini voiced skepticism over the attraction of private investors, since banks which may fail to gather a minimum 10 percent of capital from the private sector will lose control to HFSF with potential losses for shareholders.

The main opposition radical left SYRIZA party raised the issue of parliamentary control over the recapitalization process, arguing that Greek people deserve to have a say through the assembly, since they will bear the cost of the program due to further austerity in return for more aid.

Greece has been reliant on EU/IMF multi-billion euro rescue loans since 2010 conditioned on the country cutting back spending and implementing reform programs to slash deficits and pull the country back from the brink of default.

Due to delays in the implementation of the program and a rift among lenders regarding the sustainability of the Greek debt, the new tranche of aid is five months overdue.

As Greece's cash reserves run out this Friday without aid, Athens proceeded on Tuesday to sell short-term debt to cover immediate financing needs. Endi

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)