Piraeus increases capital by 25m euros

Piraeus Bank will increase its share capital by up to 25 million euros, with the final amount to be decided at the General Meeting of Shareholders, which will take place on April 27. According to the meeting notice, the shareholders will also discuss the appointment to the position of chairman of the Board of Directors of Stavros Lekkakos, who will replace Michael Colakides. Lakkakos has until now held the position of member of the Board of Directors, and Colakides will remain a member of the Board. The bank”s officials could not be contacted to comment on this information. The bank”s main shareholder is the Greek financial group Piraeus Bank, which entered the market by acquiring the stake of Pater Credit Bank in 1999. Piraeus Bank Romania that currently has a share capital of 66.1 million RON (18.9 million euros), closed last year with total assets standing at 511 million euros, 95% more than in December 2004. The bank last year posted a pre-tax profit worth 1.8 million euros, 14% below the figures seen in 2004. ZF