Dexia, the Franco-Belgian lender rescued by Belgium, France and Luxembourg, is in no rush for any sale of its subsidiary, Turkish lender Denizbank, the latter’s chief executive officer said yesterday at a press meeting in Istanbul.
“There is no decision passed to our side related with the sales decision. It is up to the decision of the board members and shareholders of Dexia,” Denizbank Chief Executive Officer Hakan Ateş told reporters at a press meeting in Istanbul. Ateş did not provide any information on how the sales procedure for the Turkish bank would proceed.
“Denizbank is a crown jewel among Dexia assets, the most valuable one,” he said.
Russia’s largest lender, OAO Sberbank, is “currently studying the possibility of acquiring Denizbank,” Bloomberg quoted Sberbank CEO German Gref as telling reporters in Moscow yesterday.
Ateş declined to comment on the news related to the Russian lender’s interest in Denizbank. “I do not want to cause any speculation on the sales procedure,” he told the Hürriyet Daily News.
The Denizbank CEO said he would fly to Belgium today and then to France to hold talks with Dexia executives and shareholders in order to discuss the details of Dexia’s restructuring process.
“It would not be right to name Dexia as a bad bank, given that the lender has A+ assets as well as Greek bonds,” Ateş told the Daily News, noting that there had been no major withdrawal from Denizbank despite concerns about Dexia’s assets in Europe in recent days.
Customers withdrew approximately 300 million euros from their Dexia accounts, De Tijd, a Belgian daily, reported last week.
Discussing the future plans regarding Dexia, Ateş said the lender might inject additional capital into its Turkish unit in the event of any need in the future. The lender’s current capital adequacy standard ratio is “already sufficient,” he said, adding that Dexia had guaranteed that it would leave its considerable profits to Denizbank for five years. Dexia plays a significant role in infrastructure and energy investments in Belgium, France and Luxembourg, he added.
Board members of Dexia and investors would decide on the best for the Turkish bank, Ateş said. “Would you trifle away the Spoonmaker’s Diamond?” he said, referring to the famous 86-carat Spoonmaker’s Diamond, considered to be among the most valuable items in the Ottoman Imperial Treasury at the Topkapı Palace in Istanbul. “Dexia still supports us as it did in the past.”
Dexia management agreed on the nationalization of its Belgian retail bank and secured 90 billion euros in state guarantees. Dexia BIL, the Luxembourg unit of Franco-Belgian bank, is still in talks with Qatari investors.
Despite news in the Turkish media that the Russian OAO Sberbank was considering the purchase of Denizbank, Ateş did not confirm the claims.
Dexia’s Turkish unit shares, traded on the Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE), jumped 6.7 percent to 10.80 liras, bringing its three-day gain to 33 percent as of 4:34 p.m. yesterday.
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Source : hurriyetdailynews.com
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