The New York Stock Exchange announced on Friday that it has commenced proceedings to delist the American Depositary Shares (ADRs) of the National Bank of Greece SA (NYSE: NBG). Friday was the last trading day for the bank’s ADRs and its Series A ADRs which traded under the ticker symbol NBGA. The ADRs and Series A ADRs were equivalent to one ordinary share and one non-cumulative preference share, respectively.
The exchange said it determined that the bank “is no longer suitable for listing based on “abnormally low” prices. The bank has the right to request a review of this decision.
The bank’s shares plunged 14% on Friday and have lost 91% of their value in 2015. The bank recently sold new equity at a discount of 90% and said earlier last week that common shares would not be trading in Athens between November 30th and December 2nd. The bank is replacing 3.5 billion existing shares following a 1-for-15 reverse split.
As of the last report on short interest, nearly 64% of the National Bank of Greece’s ADRs were short, and days to over was 2 for the 30.6 million short ADRs.
The bank’s ADRs traded above $90 just before the collapse of Bear Stearns in the fall of 2008 and as high as around $24 prior to a 2-for-1 split in May of 2013. The bank even paid a dividend of $0.652 in May of 2013, a yield of about 9% at the time.
As recently as July the ADRs traded at $1.16. That’s not so hot until it’s compared to the $0.16 price that resulted in Friday’s trading halt and the NYSE’s determination to delist the bank’s ADRs.
