Deals

Greece's Eurobank Seeks Revival With $8 Billion Bad-Loan Plan

  • Plan to securitize bad debt includes merger with Grivalia
  • Bank expects to reduce troubled loans to 15% of total in 2019

A Eurobank bank branch in Athens.

Photographer: Kostas Tsironis/Bloomberg

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Greece’s Eurobank Ergasias SA isn’t waiting around for a state rescue, with a plan to sell about 7 billion euros ($8 billion) of troubled loans and merge with a real estate fund.

As part of the plan, the bank will merge with real estate fund Grivalia Properties REIC to create a new business named Eurobank, the two companies said. It will then shift non-performing debt to a separate vehicle that will issue senior, mezzanine and junior notes that the bank will initially retain. Some of the lower level notes would then be sold off to investors.