Galery

1

The Governing Council of Alpha Bank announced that it will convene an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders on 28 March 2014 with as major theme the increase of share capital totalling 1.2 billion euro via cash paying and cancellation of pre-emption rights. The Management Board will request authorization by the general meeting in order to determine the timing and conditions of the change.

The purpose of the increase

The increase in share capital aims to facilitate the full redemption of preferred shares of the Greek state to the amount of 940 million euro and their replacement with a capital of high quality provided that they obtain the necessary approval from the competent supervisory authorities. This will allow more flexibility in the dividend policy of the bank in the future.

It also seeks to respond to the results of a diagnostic study of the Bank of Greece and configure the fully loaded Basel III Index to 12.1% (after payment of preferred shares) based on the latest published data from 30 September 2013.

The increased distribution of shares of Alpha Bank, in conjunction with their current market price, which is trading higher than the exercise price of warrants, is expected to expedite the overall re-privatization of the bank and as a consequence, the payment of shares of the Financial Stability Fund.

The proposed structure of the share capital increase is expected to facilitate its speedy completion and the attraction of high quality investors who seek to benefit from the recovery of the Greek economy, as well as the participation of existing private shareholders and holders of securities representing the right for acquisition of shares (warrants).

Capital needs

The statement notes that Alpha Bank has the smallest capital needs of the good Greek banks - to the amount of 262 million euro, taking into account credit loss projections from the assessment of Blackrock Solutions. Capital needs match the index for the coverage of expected losses throughout the life of the portfolio, 130%, which is higher compared to other banks which participated in the diagnostic control.

Basic conditions

The increase in share capital to an amount of 1.2 billion euro is expected to take place with the participation of international investors via a bidding procedure and a public offer in Greece.

The Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders of Alpha Bank on 28 March will decide on the revocation of pre-emption rights and authorization of the Board for the determination of the price of new shares and for the completion of the transaction.

The Financial Stability Fund has approved the plan for the strengthening of the capital of Alpha Bank through its representative on the Board and will vote "for" at the extraordinary general meeting. The Financial Stability Fund (which holds 81.7% of the shares issued by the bank) has expressed its full support for the bank's actions for the attraction of private capital and for the strengthening of its balance.

Citigroup Global Markets Ltd and J.P. Morgan Securities Plc. are acting as global coordinators and are committed to cover the share capital increase under normal conditions.