Greek bank stocks climb on bailout prospects

Greek bank shares gained more than 7% on Friday on investor optimism that Monday's meeting of euro zone finance ministers will give the green light for a bond swap scheme to cut the country's debt load and secure a second bailout.
"Investors expect a positive outcome at Monday's Eurogroup meeting and shares are reflecting this," said analyst Manos Giakoumis at Euroxx Securities. "Approval of the bond swap plan will bode well for Greece's second bailout."
At 09:25 GMT the Athens bourse's banking index was up 7.98% to 484.95 points, outperforming the broader Greek equities market which gained 3.6%.