By A. Doga
A new board of directors and top management for non-systemic Attica Bank is expected to be unveiled this week, a week after the bank shot to the national limelight in crisis-plagued Greece due to the central bank’s refusal to approve previous board candidates as unsuitable.
The strict provisions laid out by the SSM for banks’ corporate management in the Eurozone apparently extended to non-systemic Attica Bank, given that its direct supervision by the Bank of Greece (BoG) brought it under the “radar” of the Frankfurt-based central bank for the Eurozone.
The BoG, on its part, falls under the supervision of the ECB.
An Attica Bank general assembly is set for Tuesday, with veteran banking executive Theodoros Pantalakis expected to be approved by shareholders as the new CEO. The majority of Attica’s shares are held by the Engineers’ and Public Contractors’ Pension Fund (TSMEDE). A previous proposal for Panagiotis Roumeliotis to assume the CEO position was blocked by the BoG, with the latter surfacing as a compromise for the non-executive president’s position.
TSMEDE had appointed Roumeliotis and another banking executive, G. Sapountzoglou, to the Attica Bank board on Sept. 7. decisions that were later rescinded in the face of the BoG’s opposition.
Trading of Attica Bank’s shares were suspended at the Athens Stock Exchange last week, pending the announcement of a new board, while the BoG has prevented the bank from extending new loans. Moreover, a report by SSM and the BoG on the bank’s balance sheets will be conveyed to judicial officials, BoG Gov. Yannis Stournaras announced on Saturday.
