Piraeus Bank, which has been expected to make an entrance into the Euro-MTN market since the beginning of 2001, has announced the dealer panel off its forthcoming euro1 billion ($909.44 million) MTN programme. The dealers off the programme are BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse First Boston, Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Salomon Smith Barney, UBS Warburg and the issuer itself. UBS Warburg is also the arranger. The bank is the fifth Greek borrower to join the market. And following Greece's advance into the Eurozone earlier this year, market players believe there will be many more signings to come. National Bank of Greece joined the market in October 2000 and Stratos Chatzigiannis, head of capital markets at the bank, thinks that the Eurozone has made funding a lot cheaper for Greek issuers. He told MTNWeek in January: "Being part of the Eurozone and having the euro as our currency has driven spreads down. We've already seen this in the public debt markets. Previously levels were being posted at Euribor+15 or +20. Now it's Euribor flat." (See MTNWeek issue 214)
February 23, 2001