Piraeus Financial Holdings SA (BKP.DU)

Greece's Piraeus Bank $1.4 billion stake sale secures strong demand

ATHENS (Reuters) -The sale of a 27% stake in Piraeus Bank by Greece's bank bailout fund (HFSF), worth about 1.3 billion euros ($1.41 billion), was oversubscribed by more than three times on Monday, sources close to the process told Reuters. Greece's third largest lender will be the third of the country's four big banks to be fully privatised since last autumn after the Greek economy was raised to investment grade. Interest in the Piraeus sale, which was announced on Sunday, is a positive sign for the Greek economy after a decade-long debt crisis that saw the Mediterranean country nearly fall out of the euro before receiving three international bailouts.