BANKS: The payment of 2025 dividends by Eurobank and ETE has been pushed back by a few days due to a delay in the ECB’s approval of the requests, while in the case of Piraeus Bank, due to a capital return, the delay is nearly two months.
The SSM (pictured: Head Claudia Buch) was significantly late this year in approving the distributions due to the fluid geopolitical environment, which affects the economy and banks, and the combination of high distributions, strong credit expansion, and acquisitions.
According to reports, there was a verbal update yesterday that the dividends had been approved, followed by announcements with the revised ex-dividend dates, record dates, and payment start dates.
BANKS II: Eurobank announced that the dividend record date will be June 10, instead of June 8 as decided by the annual general meeting, with a record date of June 11 and payment commencing on June 15 (Note: originally scheduled for June 12).
National Bank is pushing the schedule back by almost a week. Based on shareholder authorization, the ex-dividend date was set for today or tomorrow. With the revised schedule, it moves to June 10, with a new record date of June 11 and payment beginning on June 15.
Finally, the Piraeus Bank capital return has been pushed back by nearly two months, as the ex-dividend date was originally set for June 9, with a record date of June 10 and payment beginning on June 15; under the revised schedule, we are now looking at early August, following the announcement of second-quarter results (note: ex-dividend date August 3, record date August 4, and payment commencing on August 7).
The delay at Piraeus Bank is due to purely technical reasons, as the capital return requires, immediately following approval by the ECB, the posting of the share capital reduction decision on the General Commercial Registry (GEMI) and a 40-day waiting period after publication.
MAXIMOU: As long as an absolute majority remains out of reach based on New Democracy’s poll numbers, various scenarios for alternative governance of the country continue to surface in public discourse.
One of these is the selection of someone other than Kyriakos Mitsotakis for the position of prime minister, as a precondition for post-election cooperation with another party (see PASOK).
A scenario, of course, that is categorically rejected (it could not be otherwise, after all) by the Maximos Mansion. “Prime ministers emerge from the ballot box and the popular vote, not from the ASEP, from… behind closed doors, from those who were defeated in the elections, or from someone’s personal grudge and opposition, ” government sources state, adding:
“The people’s verdict is clearly sacred and ranks far higher for every person participating in an electoral process than the personal ‘wishes’ of a political leader, such as Mr. Androulakis.”
An unsolvableequation…
KARISTIAOU: “Hope for Democracy is ready to govern, ” Maria Karistianou asserts, and challenges Kyriakos Mitsotakis to a debate.
Seeking to go on the offensive following the criticism her initiative received in its early stages, Maria of Tempi raised a series of issues she would bring to the table in a dialogue with the prime minister.
Among them: what goes into the public coffers, how much the Prime Minister’s Office and the ministries cost citizens, why Mr. Mitsotakis needs 150 people “for personal care, ” why the primary sector has disappeared, and why he doesn’t talk about heavy industry.
“Do you think he’ll accept? In any case, I’m publicly making the request (for a debate),” she emphasized (on ANT1). At the same time, she revealed the first rejection she received from her economic team. “The first thing I said was that I want VAT on certain basic necessities to be reduced to zero, and they told me, unfortunately, that this cannot be done right now.”
The newly formed party, as announced by its spokesperson, Thanasis Avgerinos, has no sponsors or corporate backers and will soon obtain a tax identification number, calling on citizens to provide financial support.
All who believe, come forward…
NIKI: Niki, however, will not be collaborating with Maria Karistianou’s party. Although Dimitris Natsios left the door open in the recent past, the party’s press secretary, Dimos Thanassoulas, “closed the door” on any pre- or post-election alliance.
“The indications so far leave no room for convergence, as there is a motley crew of disparate figures. First, they must come to an agreement among themselves, and only then can we begin to discuss whether they will align with us,” he noted, adding that there are deep ideological and value-based differences between the two groups.
Niki is also opposed to cooperation with Antonis Samaras (should he form a new party), because—according to the relevant argument—he “drove us even deeper into the memoranda.”
VELOPOULOS: Kyriakos Velopoulos, of course, could not escape the premise that “no one cooperates with anyone.”
“I cannot form a coalition government with people I don’t trust—lazy people, windbags. I don’t trust anyone but myself,” he stated (on Mega). The dilemma of the election, argued the president of Greek Solution, “will be between the lazy and the hardworking. Compare me to the rest. I’m still working even now; I work, while they’ve never worked a day in their lives and have millions.”
He assessed that the government fears him and that is why “it is promoting to the public… the manageable Tsipras and Karistianou, ” while expressing the hope that “in the elections, the Greek people might see the light and say, ‘I’m going to give the Greek Solution the right to govern.’”
The right to dream!
KAIRIDIS: What is the difference between Alexis Tsipras and Nikos Androulakis? The answer was provided by the New Democracy parliamentary spokesperson, Dimitris Kairidis (on Real FM): The former prime minister, as he said, “found a void in the opposition” and is creating “a buzz among our supporters, ” in contrast to the PASOK president, who—according to the professor-turned-lawmaker— “is somewhat flat, like a cardiogram.”
SALMAS: In contrast, a former New Democracy—now independent—MP, Marios Salmas, is leaning positively toward Harilaou Trikoupi.
In fact, he is reportedly being courted to switch to PASOK, a move he does not rule out at this time. He is considering remaining in politics, despite what he has advocated in the recent past, and is awaiting a possible signal from Antonis Samaras.
“You don’t make career moves every day; I’ll make one and be done with it, and I want it to be strategic, ” he notes, though he rules out the possibility of running for office again in Aetolia-Acarnania.
HELLENIQ ENERGY: Shareholders are being asked to approve a two-year buyback program for up to 1,500,000 shares (i.e., up to 0.49% of the share capital), with a minimum purchase price of 5 euros and a maximum of 20 euros.
The shares acquired under the program will be used primarily for distribution to company executives as part of the incentive program. They may also be sold or canceled.
ORMUZ: A peculiar“wait-and-see” situationis unfolding around the Strait of Hormuz, as tankers are gathering in areas near the Persian Gulf in anticipation of a possible resumption of shipping after months of armed conflict.
According to the Financial Times, Vangelis Marinakis’ Capital Maritime has moved a significant number of tankers to a distance of three to five days’ sail from the Persian Gulf, near India and East Africa.
George Prokopiou’s Dynacom is following a similar strategy, according to market sources.
The bet is that, once the Strait of Hormuz reopens, freight rates for ships rushing to load will skyrocket, as oil-producing countries will seek to immediately restart their exports. However, this choice comes at a cost, as the ships remain without cargo and thus without revenue for as long as the crisis lasts.
It should be noted that Vangelis Marinakis caused a stir with his statement at Posidonia in favor of imposing tolls in the Strait of Hormuz, emphasizing that this is preferable to keeping the Strait closed…
SHIPPING: Against the backdrop of the Posidonia exhibition, Astrup Fearnley announced the opening of a new office in Athens, the group’s 19th international office, dedicated to shipbroking services.
The move underscores the strategic importance the Norwegian company attaches to the Greek shipping market, which remains the world’s largest in terms of managed fleet.
The expansion is accompanied by strong financial performance. The group’s operating revenue reached a record high of 1.97 billion Norwegian kroner in 2025, while CEO Marius Hermansen, stated that 2026 is shaping up even better, with the group’s operations already up 40% compared to last year.
Meanwhile, Fearnley continues to hire and expand internationally, having opened new offices in recent years in Geneva, Dubai, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, and São Paulo.
PALIOU: The dispute between Diana and the American company Genco continues, following the rejection of the new, improved acquisition proposal by the Greek shipping company.
In a new public statement, Diana Shipping CEO Semiramis Paliou argued that Genco Shipping & Trading abruptly abandoned the ship valuation methodology it had used for five years in order to inflate its net asset value (NAV) and to reject the improved proposal from the Greek side (as Ms. Palaiou characteristically put it, “Genco moved the goalposts again”).
Diana is now offering $24.80 per share in cash, up from $23.50 in March and $20.60 in the initial November proposal. Genco rejected the third offer as well, arguing that it falls significantly short of the company’s true value and its estimated net asset value of $26.66 per share.
Paleou argued that Genco’s management replaced VesselsValue’s valuations with analyst estimates, thereby inflating the NAV and making any deal more difficult. At the same time, she emphasized that Diana has fully secured financing of $1.43 billion.
One thing is certain. There will be more episodes in this saga…
CRYPTOCURRENCIES: “Smartmoney” seems to be starting to move within the crypto market, and the new favorite trade is neither Bitcoin nor Ether. It’s HYPE, the token of Hyperliquid, a rapidly growing crypto exchange that’s being marketed as the new generation of digital assets with… real economic foundations.
The data speaks for itself: From May to the present, Bitcoin and Ether ETFs have recorded outflows of $3.4 billion and $674 million, respectively, with both posting significant losses from their peaks.
The new ETFs investing in HYPE, however, have already raised around $180 million in just three weeks. As a result, HYPE reached $75.5, with gains of 180% this year and a market capitalization of $16 billion, securing it a spot in the top 10.
It is no coincidence that major institutional players, such as Grayscale, Bitwise, and 21Shares, are rushing to launch ETFs based on HYPE. Wall Street now appears to be seeking crypto projects with a solid cash flow story rather than just a narrative or social media hype.