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Diaspora Investors Plan Greek Bank

pic-0-normTwo noted Greek-American businessmen, Chicago billionaire asset manager John Calamos and Connecticut billionaire investor Dean Mitropoulos are reportedly teaming up to head a new bank in Greece.

Close associates of Calamos are said to be speaking of his involvement in a burgeoning deal to create a bank with the help of the former CEO of the National Bank, Apostolos Tamvakakis.

The plans are reportedly in the final stages and will be for an investment bank initially capitalized with 70 million euros ($92.3 million) in a country where other banks are not lending while waiting to be recapitalized by the government after being pushed into difficulty when investors and bondholders were forced to take 74 percent losses.

Greek banks are also suffering some 66 billion euros ($87.03 billion) in nonperforming loans as Greeks buried under waves of pay cuts, tax hikes and slashed pensions are unable to pay their mortgages, loans and credit cards.

That includes the ruling New Democracy Conservatives of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and his coalition partner, the PASOK Socialists, who together aren’t paying 250 million euros ($329.6 million) they owe to banks and who have given immunity to the officers who approved the bad loans.

If all works out well, the new bank is expected to open its doors in early September and aims at utilizing all investment opportunities in the crisis-stricken country although it wasn’t revealed who the potential customers might be or the terms.

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