ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's Alpha Bank (AT:ACBr) and Eurobank (AT:EURBr) will transfer some troubled credit in large Greek companies to a platform set up with U.S. private equity firm KKR (N:KKR), as part of efforts to better manage non-performing loans.
Greek lenders successfully concluded a 5-billion-euro recapitalisation last year. But they have been grappling with problem loan portfolios due to a deep recession in the crisis-hit country, making it hard for borrowers - including large businesses - to service their debts and forcing the banks to make sizable provisions for impaired credit.
The platform will be managed by KKR's investment vehicle Pillarstone and will provide troubled but viable Greek companies with fresh funding and expertise to help them recover and create job opportunities, KKR, Pillarstone Greece and the two banks said in a joint statement on Tuesday.
The initial portfolio of corporate loans managed by the platform will be 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion), with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) taking a 5 percent stake in the project, bankers involved in the project said.
"The successful recapitalisation of the Greek banks at the end of 2015 was an essential step towards financial stability," EBRD director for insurance and financial services Noel Edison was quoted as saying in the joint statement.
"The next important milestones include a more effective management of underperforming exposures."