ATHENS, Greece—Greece's private Piraeus Bank offered to buy stakes in two state-controlled banks for euro701 million ($890.5 million), officials said Thursday.
The bank is bidding to acquire 77.3 percent of ATEBank and 33 percent of Hellenic Postbank, CEO Michalis Sallas said. The Finance Ministry said it was studying the proposal.
The move follows public statements by government officials that Greek banks were likely to merge because of the country's acute financial crisis.
Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou, speaking in parliament Wednesday, said there was an "urgent need" for Greek banks to consider mergers. The center-left government is also seeking to sell off state assets as part of a privatization program to aid Greece's debt-strapped economy.
The Athens Stock Exchange suspended trading in shares of the three banks before Thursday's announcement.
Sallas said the proposed deal would create the country's largest banking group with assets worth more than euro105 billion ($133.5 billion).
"This is a proposal which we believe will be beneficial to Greek society, the banks themselves, the state and the general atmosphere so that we can escape this atmosphere of gloom," Sallas said. "The decision is not mine. It is up to the government to study this proposal and make its decision."
Piraeus Bank, Postbank and ATEbank are among six Greek lenders on a list of 91 European banks undergoing a stress test by the European Union to probe potential financial vulnerabilities.
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