Piraeus Bank shares drop, trader cites media reports

ATHENS (Reuters) - Shares in Piraeus Bank (BOPr.AT) tumbled more than 11 percent on Wednesday on media reports that a central bank investigation had found some of

the bank’s employees had been involved in regulatory violations.

Daily Ethnos newspaper reported on Tuesday that a central bank audit found violations by a number of bankers employed by Piraeus bank from 2014 to last year.

Beta Securities trader Takis Zamanis said that one of the reasons behind the share price drop was “media reports related to employees of the bank.”

Piraeus Bank, responding to a query by the country’s securities watchdog following the newspaper article, said on Tuesday it had not received the central bank’s report. Piraeus also said in its statement it aimed to cooperate fully with the authorities conducting the audit.

A source familiar with the matter said that Greece’s central bank had sent a Supreme Court prosecutor details of the findings into Piraeus Bank (BOPr.AT) that found some of its bankers were involved in regulatory violations.

“Excerpts of the findings in the Bank of Greece audit (into Piraeus Bank), naming bankers, have been sent to a Supreme Court’s prosecutor,” the source said, declining to be named. “The full findings of the audit will follow.”

A Supreme Court prosecutor has received the findings of the central bank’s audit, a court official told Reuters.