Eleni Vrettou is the person of the year because she completed a project that many viewed with suspicion – not unjustly, admittedly, if we take into account the recent past.
Eleni Vrettou is considered the great “reformer” of Attica Bank, with the bank officially being counted among the “billionaires” of the Greek capital market.
The merger with Pancreta, the “double” share capital increase of 735 million euros and the listing of new shares on the stock market, are the last links of a dynamic comeback, with the first female CEO of a Greek bank taking over a half-dead company in 2022 and transforming it within 2 years into the 5th pillar of the domestic financial system.
And this is reflected in the ATHEX board, where the “new” Attica Bank is currently valued at 1.1 billion euros, recording a rally of almost +28% in the previous three days and constituting the 22nd most valuable listed company.
As is known, the turn-around story of the previously loss-making bank, which had flirted with collapse several times, had the practical support of many people, who stood by Eleni Vrettou’s efforts.
And, of course, among them stands out the Thrivest group, with Exarchou-Bakou-Kaimenakis becoming major shareholders, jointly financing the entire “facelift” with the HFSF.
The next day
The CEO now has in her hands a bank with strong capital (over 800 million euros), a “clean” portfolio (single-digit percentage of NPEs after “Hercules”) and promising growth prospects.
The next steps, of course, include improving profitability – after all, Attica Bank only last year managed to “get rid” of loss-making years – as well as increasing the equity dispersion, which is currently below 7%.
Moreover, a placement is expected in the near future, given that at least two funds are in the “queue” to enter the stock market – in addition to Fiera Capital, which participated in the IPO.
