Banking, finance, and taxes

NYSE Boots National Bank of Greece

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.

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