July 16, 2010

Bank mergers on the horizon

Kathimerini on the coming wave of buyouts, sellouts and mergers in the banking sphere:

"If a state-controlled bank is being sold off, then all the parameters, beyond the price of its shares on the stock market, have to be taken into account. In the case of the Hellenic Postbank, for example, one must bear in mind its ample liquidity. If strict rules are not followed, the inevitable wave of mergers will result in either wiping out healthy state-controlled banks or in covering up the financial black holes at poorly managed private lenders."

The problem they are talking about also afflicts the general European banking system. It's hard enough telling which banks are healthy and which are not since the rather opaque reporting regulations allow for plenty of space to manipulate the balance sheets. The same problem is in the United States.

Related:

2011 – Creating the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) & the "PIIGS"

2017 – Another Greek Economic Crisis?

Tourism in Greece

The Drachma almost returned to Greece 2013–2017

Greek economic Survival in the 1990s

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