Alpha sought higher bid from NBG

Alpha Bank sought better terms from NBG after rejecting a bid last month by Greece's biggest lender, but there has been no follow up, a banking source close to the talks told Reuters.
National Bank (NBG) surprised markets in February with an all-share bid for Alpha and has since defended its planned takeover as a means to prop up Greece's banking system, which has grown dependent on ECB funding.
Alpha's willingness to bargain for better terms could be a sign that a tie-up is still possible, despite recent comments by its chief operating officer that a deal is dead.
In late February Alpha dismissed NBG's eight-for-11 share offer, which then valued it at 2.95 bln euros ($4.2 bln) as not being in its shareholder interests.
"The weekend that followed, Alpha counter-proposed a share swap ratio of ten National Bank shares for every 12 Alpha shares, which was turned down in one hour and in a dismissive way according to its management," To Vima newspaper said on Sunday.
Alpha Bank was not available for comment on the newspaper report, while NBG made no comment.
Sources close to the discussions said last month Alpha was concerned about National's bigger exposure to Greek government bonds and felt NBG's offer, coming at a time of depressed shares, did not reflect the bank's real value.
Last week Alpha Bank's chief operating officer Spyros Filateros was quoted as saying that "this deal is dead".
A banking source close to the discussions told Reuters Alpha Bank had made a counter-proposal a day after rejecting NBG's offer but did not pursue it further.
"The counter-proposal, however, was not followed up by Alpha and a sudden withdrawal ensued," said the banker, who did not want to be named.
Market participants say NBG is in a position to improve its offer and do not rule out a deal down the road.
"I believe affairs like this get second, third and fourth thoughts, before one can say it's over, no deal," said Theodore Krintas, head of wealth managemnet at Attica Bank.
"It is likely that NBG will come up with a sweeter offer, there is no other way for a deal to go through. This is what the market believes too," he said.
The latest data from Greece's central bank showed that ECB funding to Greek banks almost doubled last year, hitting 97.6 bln euros in December, about 19.5% of the Greek banking system's assets.