Piraeus Bank bids for ATEbank

Shares in Greek lender Piraeus Bank <BOPr.AT> were suspended from trading on Thursday after it offered to buy stakes in ATEbank <AGBr.AT> and Hellenic Postbank (TT), the Athens stock exchange said.

"The Athens bourse … decided on the temporary trade suspension of shares in Piraeus Bank, ATEbank and Hellenic Postbank after the securities regulator was informed by Piraeus Bank that it submitted a proposal to the government to acquire significant stakes in the two banks," the exchange said.

Piraeus, Greece's fourth-largest lender, will make announcements at 0830 GMT.

The government has been urging banks to consolidate more to form stronger entities better able to deal with the economic crisis and foreign competition.

"The (Greek) banks should urgently make strategic moves," Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou told lawmakers on Wednesday.

"It is clear that the country needs fewer and stronger banks," he said, according to quotes transmitted by his press office. "We will push as much as we can in this direction."

Greek bank shares <.FTATBNK> gained 3.8 percent on Thursday, outperforming a 1.2 percent rise in the broader Greek equities market.