EFG International's Major Shareholder Severs All Links To Greek Bank

Tom Burroughes

23 July 2012

In a move highlighting how banks are shedding Greek exposure, the major shareholder in Swiss private banking firm EFG International, called EFG European Financial Group, has removed its 43.5 per cent share holding in the Greek commercial bank, EFG Eurobank Ergasias.

The shareholding is being moved to nine members of the next generation of the Latsis family and the John S Latsis Public Benefit Foundation, EFG said in a statement today.

The move will finally bury misconceptions about Greek exposures of EFG International, the bank said. In recent months, the Zurich-listed banking group has issued a number of statements rebutting suggestions that it had a serious problem in Greece.

The latest action has been prompted by uncertainty surrounding the Greek banking recapitalisation process and the need to let each individual shareholder decide what position to take on their participation in the forthcoming recapitalisation of Eurobank, once the terms have been finalised by the Hellenic Republic, EFG said.

As a result of the move, Eurobank will be split from EFG Group and all EFG Group nominated board members of Eurobank will resign from the board and all its committees. Eurobank will cease using the “EFG” name and both entities will adopt distinct branding, the statement said.

There is no change in EFG Group's holding in EFG International, and the developments have “no direct bearing on EFG International, which is entirely separate from Eurobank”, the statement said.

“EFG International is not present in Greece, no longer has any direct exposure to Greece, and exposure to European subsidiaries of Greek banks is just 0.3 per cent of total assets,” it said.

“The changes announced by EFG Group today should, once and for all, remove any misconceptions relating to EFG International and its exposure to risks arising from the Greek sovereign debt crisis. EFG International is a Swiss private banking group, headquartered, listed and regulated in Switzerland,” it said.