Greece's HFSF Sells 10% Stake in National Bank of Greece, Cutting State Ownership to 8.4%

Greece's Hellenic Financial Stability Fund completed a secondary offering of a 10 per cent stake in National Bank of Greece in October 2024, cutting the state rescue fund's ownership in the lender to 8.4 per cent. The transaction drew strong investor demand for Greek bank shares and further reduced sovereign holdings accumulated during the country's financial crisis.

THE HFSF'S MANDATE

The HFSF was established during the eurozone debt crisis to recapitalise Greece's four systemic banks using funds from Greece's European bailout programmes. Its mandate included exiting those recapitalisation positions, and with the October 2024 sale, the fund's residual stake in National Bank of Greece falls to 8.4 per cent, a sale that concluded Greece's post-crisis bank privatisation programme; the remaining 8.4 per cent stake is to be transferred to Greece's sovereign wealth fund.