GREECE: Greek bank employees strike and protest over bank sale

Record ID: 340866

  • Title: GREECE: Greek bank employees strike and protest over bank sale
  • Date: 30th July 2012
  • Summary: ATHENS, GREECE (JULY 30 2012) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF EXTERIOR OF GREEK STATE BANK NATIONAL BANK VARIOUS OF BANK EMPLOYEES AND SUPPORTERS FROM THE COMMUNIST PARTY ARRIVING OUTSIDE THE CENTRAL BANK OF GREECE BANK EMPLOYEES STANDING OUTSIDE THE CENTRAL BANK OF GREECE PROTESTING VARIOUS OF EMPLOYEES GATHERED PROTESTING BANNER BEING HELD READING: "NO TO THE SELL-OFF OF ATE BANK"
  • Embargoed: 14th August 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Greece
  • Country: Greece
  • Topics: Economy,Employment,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA4HOIW3MDXFE38GCNXMHWXKKZ
  • Story Text: Greek bank employees staged a 24 hour strike and demonstration on Monday (July 30) over changes taking place to the banking system under the government's austerity program.
    Wages and jobs have been lost in the banking sector since the austerity crisis began, and on Friday Greece's central bank said that the fourth-biggest lender Piraeus Bank would take over the healthy assets of ATEbank. ATEbank's toxic assets will be absorbed by Greece's bank bailout fund, the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund, while some units will be taken over by the state. The government has a roughly 90 percent stake in ATEbank.
    Not all bank branches were affected by the strike and some banks were open but not working at full capacity.
    The country's banking system, which has relied on the European Central Bank and the Greek central bank for liquidity, has been battered by a fifth straight year of recession, deposit outflows and fears that Greece could exit the euro zone. Greek banks are under pressure to consolidate in a bid to create bigger entities better able to survive the debt crisis.
    About one hundred ATE bank employees, concerned over their future in the bank, led the protest outside the Bank of Greece.
    "The employees are insecure over the future of their employment, and our social security rights are in danger. Further to that, as Greek citizens we believe this is the biggest scandal in Greece: a state bank is being sold off to the private sector despite the fact that it was healthy," said ATE bank employees union president Kostas Amoutzias during the protest.
    Piraeus Bank has pledged to not fire any of the bank's workers. Shares in Piraeus Bank surged over 16 percent on Monday.
    Banking analysts said the outcome appeared to be one that benefited both the state and Piraeus. ATEbank failed a European stress test last year and had not published its 2011 results while it awaited a final decision on its future. It is estimated that the bank requires a capital injection of as much as 5 billion euros to continue operating.
    European Union sources said in June the European Commission had been pushing Greece to wind down certain banks.
    Inspectors from the so-called troika of the European Union and International Monetary Fund are visiting Athens to monitor the country's progress in meeting the terms of its latest bailout package, which includes implementing reforms, several of which have been delayed.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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