Piraeus ups BOC stake to 7.5%

Piraeus Bank announced that its combined direct and indirect stake in the capital of Bank of Cyprus Pcl (BOC) has reached 7.5% by yesterday and judging from heavy volume on BOC shares on both the ASE and the CSE, the Greek bank must be fast approaching the 8% holding level.

BOC was well bid on Friday, trading at CYP 4.45 on heavy volume, suggesting that Piraeus continued to buy the shares as it reaches its target of 9.99%, after which it will need to secure Central Bank of Cyprus permission.

The Central Bank meanwhile came under heavy criticism for the publication of two letters that the Governor Christodoulos Christodoulou sent to Piraeus and Marfin with respect to their intentions on Cypriot banks.

The Governor released a statement saying that he has been at the forefront of attracting investments, especially from Greece to Cyprus and denied that he is acting to safeguard Cypriot interests.

However, analysts as well as the former Central Bank Governor Afxentis Afxentiou were critical of Christodoulou for leaking the contents of his letters to the Greek banks.

In his letter to Piraeus, the Central Bank asked for firm clarifications regarding the intention of Piraeus in building up a sizable stake in the share capital of BOC.

In a separate letter to Marfin, the Central Bank said it is investigation unsubstantiated reports that the stake of Marfin and Tosca Fund may be connected and it was pointed out to Marfin to stop buying Laiki Bank shares from the floor during the closed period until the announcement of the first half results.

Both Greek banks strongly rejected the Central Bank remarks and said they respect and continue to act within the spirit and guidelines of the Cypriot regulations.

In a separate development, the Vice Chairman of Marfin Andreas Vgenopoulos told euro2day.gr that reports that he was associated with Piraeus in seeking control of BOC or Emporiki were false and malicious rumours.