Fresh information supports earlier reports that CrediaBank’s planned €300 million capital increase may be structured largely around the entry of new shareholders, a direction that market sources say is being encouraged by the European Central Bank’s Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM). Whether this approach will ultimately prevail remains an open question.
The key issue, however, lies in how the Hellenic Corporation of Assets and Participations (HCAP), widely known as the Greek “Superfund,” will position itself following the capital increase. HCAP currently holds a 36.16% stake in CrediaBank, corresponding to roughly 585 million shares, with a market value of approximately €760 million. If the Superfund seeks to maintain its existing percentage, it would need to invest around €108.5 million on a pro rata basis in the €300 million capital increase. Should it opt not to participate, the resulting dilution could reduce its stake below the 33% threshold that constitutes a blocking minority under Greek corporate law.
Such an outcome would have material implications. Falling below this threshold would deprive the Greek State of veto rights over critical corporate decisions, including amendments to the bank’s articles of association, capital increases or reductions, mergers, and key strategic choices. In practical terms, this would significantly limit the State’s institutional influence over the bank.
It is worth recalling that in July 2024 the Governor of the Bank of Greece, Yannis Stournaras, commenting on the merger between Attica Bank and Pancretan Bank that led to the creation of CrediaBank, stressed that the transaction safeguarded the public interest. He noted at the time that the Greek State, acting through the then Hellenic Financial Stability
Fund and subsequently through the Superfund, had protected the value of its roughly €480 million investment in Attica Bank by retaining a strong minority stake in the newly formed banking group, which was positioned for growth. That assessment carried particular weight, given that the State had already incurred losses exceeding €1.5 billion from its involvement with Attica Bank, largely as a result of decisions that had, albeit controversially, received supervisory approval.
Against this backdrop, a capital increase that would push the Superfund’s stake below 33% would mark a gradual departure from the notion of a “strong minority participation” by the State in CrediaBank, as articulated by Stournaras. While such a development would not undermine the strategic objective of establishing a fifth pillar in the Greek banking system, it would, under a strict interpretation, weaken the framework for safeguarding the public interest and carries clear signalling value for the period ahead. For this reason, close attention is expected to focus on the stance adopted by the Superfund itself, and in particular by its Chief Executive Officer, Yannis Papachristou.
