GREECE: HCMC extends short selling ban on Attica Bank

Wednesday January 13 2016

The Greek regulator, Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC) has extended the prohibition for the short selling of shares of the Attica Bank S.A. admitted to trading on the Athens Exchange, irrespective of the venue where the transaction is executed.

The temporary prohibition shall be in force until 24:00 on 25 January 2016 and takes into account the recapitalisation process of Attica Bank S.A. currently in progress.

The delivery of the new shares to the beneficiaries has not been completed and the date for admission to trading of the new shares has not been announced. In making their decisions and in the interest of equal treatment, the HCMC considered that short selling bans had been applied to all credit institutions during their recapitalisation and the first few trading days of the new shares.
The temporary ban applies to sales which are covered by intraday purchases and to depository receipts (ADR’s, GDR’s) and to warrants representing shares of Attica Bank S.A. admitted to trading on the Athens Exchange.

The prohibition shall not apply to market makers’ transactions conducted for hedging purposes.

HCMC imposed the ban despite a negative opinion being issued by The EU financial regulator ESMA to the proposed extension of the ban.

Please see our previous article regarding the ESMA opinion:
http://www.funds-axis.com/news-articles/eu-esma-issues-negative-opinion-on-proposed-extension-of-greek-short-selling-ban/