Greece’s biggest bank is poised to return to capital markets in a crucial test of whether the country that brought the eurozone to the brink of collapse is coming back into the fold.
Following a five-year hiatus from market financing, Piraeus Bank is preparing to issue a €500m senior unsecured bond and a separate €1.8bn share offering as investors show increased readiness to lend to banks in the region’s recession-battered periphery.
“These actions are meant to send a signal,” said Anthimos Thomopoulos, Piraeus’ chief executive. “Greece has turned the corner, the banking sector has turned the corner and the international financial sector is comfortable enough to lend to us and buy shares from us in size.”