A Greek man walks in front of a closed branch office of ATEbank in Athens. (file photo)
Workers from the Greek state-controlled ATEbank stage a 24-hour strike in Athens after learning larger rival bank Piraeus is to take over ATEbank's healthy assets.
The strike on Monday was called in opposition to changes taking place in the country's banking landscape that it says Greece is implementing under pressure from its creditors.
In a deal announced last week, Piraeus Bank acquired, from the state-owned lender, EUR14.7 billion in assets and EUR21.4 billion in liabilities, including EUR14.3 billion in customer deposits.
"Piraeus Bank Group benefits by the synergies that will arise and a total EUR155 million after tax at the end of the first three-year period, and EUR155 million after tax annually afterwards," Piraeus Bank said in a statement, carried by Dow Jones newswire.
"The EUR6.7 billion difference that arises between the preliminarily valued transferred assets and liabilities will be covered by the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund," it added.
ATEbank has been undergoing a years-long restructuring program to work off past bad debts and shed unprofitable subsidiaries.
Greece has been at the epicenter of the eurozone debt crisis and is experiencing its fifth year of recession. One in every five Greek workers is unemployed, banks are in a shaky position, and pensions and salaries have been slashed by up to 40 percent.
KA/JR/AZ
