ATHENS, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Piraeus Financial Holdings, one of Greece's top four banks, is in discussions with private equity firm CVC Capital Partners regarding the acquisition of National Insurance, as confirmed by its CEO during a press conference held on Monday.
Earlier that same day, the Greek bank, which is the parent company of Piraeus Bank, announced in a regulatory filing its ongoing evaluation of a potential investment in National Insurance.
In 2021, CVC Capital, overseeing assets valued at 191 billion euros, acquired a 90% interest in the Greek insurance company, the nation's second-largest, from National Bank.
Christos Megalou, CEO of Piraeus, stated to reporters that the bank is in discussions to buy National Insurance, suggesting that finalizing such a deal would elevate the group's fee revenues to 30%, up from its current approximately 20%.
Megalou remarked that acquiring National Insurance would provide added protection against the decline in interest rates in the eurozone. He refrained from disclosing specifics about the potential agreement.
Piraeus, which projects a net profit of 1 billion euros for 2024, plans to allocate 35% of these earnings to its shareholders.
Greek banks are returning to stability following a series of recapitalizations that resulted in their nationalization in the previous decade amid the financial crisis of late 2009. Having reduced bad loan ratios and returned to profitability, they obtained approval from the European Central Bank last year to resume dividend distributions for the first time in 16 years.