The finance ministry divided the TT Hellenic Postbank into a "good" and a "bad" bank. The healthy part of the bank will be called "New TT Hellenic Postbank." It will keep the deposits from the old financial institution that are owned by private individuals, businesses and the public sector, as well as the healthy part of the closed bank's portfolio. The Greek Financial Stability Fund is, for now, the sole shareholder in the new bank, and it is expected to set the process of the bank's healthy part's privatisation in motion.
The New TT Hellenic Postbank will be fully refinanced with funds from the Bank of Greece and the financial assistance given to the country by the European support system. The total cost of refinancing amounts to 4.6 billion euro. Harris Siganos will be Chairman and CEO of the new bank. Board members will be appointed by the Bank of Greece, the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund and the state administration.
"The implementation of the provisions for consolidation of credit institutions fully ensures the bank's customer deposits as well as the smooth execution of operations," reads the statement regarding the reform of the Bank of Greece. The central supervisory body announced that the licence of the old bank was annulled and now it is undergoing a process of liquidation.
One of the biggest problems with the reform of the TT Hellenic Postbank includes the management of employees in the financial institution. The initial recovery plan of the government, which was agreed with the supervisory Troika from Europe and the International Monetary Fund, provided for the cut of about 500 jobs out of a total of 3,200. According to the latest information, the Ministry of Finance is considering a plan for the 10% or 15% reduction of the salaries of all employees, in order to avoid lay-offs in this way.
The news that TT Hellenic Postbank will enter into a new phase of its existence, made it clear that long-time Chairman of the Executive Board of the Bank, Kleon Papadopoulou, will leave the financial institution. In an open letter to the media, he thanked the bank's employees and said that, despite the difficult decisions that had to be taken recently, the bank is now more stable.
"I feel proud for passing the torch of management to excellent professionals whom I had the honour to personally choose and work with side by side. I'm sure that the TT Hellenic Postbank will be in good hands," said in conclusion the financier. By mid-year, the New TT Hellenic Postbank should be privatised, according to the agreement on the financial assistance to Greece by international creditors.