Aspis left out of ATE Insurance short list

The French Groupama and the German Ergo Insurance Group are among the parties to be invited to participate into the second part of the sale of ATEbank's insurance subsidiary ATE Insurance, according to Deloitte.
The bank had announced that it had received 4 non-binding bids. Despite the fact that no pricing details are yet available, the sale of ATE Insurance should enhance the bank’s capital position.
Meanwhile the Cypriot owned Aspis Holdings, which had also bid for the Greek insurer was left out because of its “close links” with Aspis Bank. Greek press reports suggest that one of the preconditions of the bidding process that interested parties should not have ties with banking institution in Greece.