The Bank of Greece supports the merger of Attica Bank and Pancretia, as the Deputy Governor of the BoG, Christina Papakonstantinou, stressed today at the General Meeting of Attica Bank, adding that the merger of the two institutions is an exercise with multiple challenges.

"Many complex actions have already been taken to prepare the transaction and reach an agreement between the banks' shareholders. To complete the merger, all stakeholders, especially the management and executives of the two banks, must continue to work in a coordinated and effective manner in the coming period. They all know that the completion of the project for a single banking entity is another important step in the overall consolidation and healthy development of the Greek banking system," he said.

Looking back at the main milestones in the history of Attica Bank, Ms. Papakostantinou said that the Bank of Greece has been overseeing the restructuring and consolidation efforts of the bank for more than a decade.

The bank today, she said, is undergoing a transformation and is about to take the most important step in its history. With the support of its current major shareholder, the HFSF, and in parallel, with the capital support of private investors, the bank will finally be freed from the burden of its non-performing loans through the use of the Hercules 3 state guarantee scheme.

The finalisation of the rating by DBRS, at better than expected levels, paves the way for the bank's resolution. By joining forces with Pankritia Bank, it will become a strong pillar in the Greek banking system, enhancing competition in the domestic banking market.

In the 2000s, the Bank participated in rapid credit expansion and the development of the financial sector by expanding its activities. The financial crisis of the 2010s left its negative imprint on Attica Bank as well as on the entire banking industry.

"Unfortunately, the impact of the financial crisis was combined in the case of Attica Bank with the inherent weaknesses in the bank's lending processes, corporate governance, and internal control systems, which were also identified by audits conducted by the Bank of Greece at that time. Attica Bank managed to survive the crisis, mainly thanks to the contribution of its previous major shareholder (TSMEDE-TMEDE), and the subsequent management of the bank until today has addressed most of the weaknesses that had led the bank to negative results. The current management of the bank has managed to improve the situation significantly and substantially compared to previous years, both in terms of size and corporate  governance," said Ms. Papakostantinou.