The National Bank of Greece (NBG) has distributed 169,060 ordinary registered voting shares to eligible staff members, completing the third cycle of its 2023 Stock Awards Programme. The shares were transferred free of charge through over-the-counter transactions, according to a report by Cyprus Mail.
Programme Origins and Approval
The share-based incentive scheme was established at an annual general meeting of shareholders held on July 28, 2023, which also authorised a separate share buyback programme to supply the necessary treasury shares. The incentive programme covers executives and employees of the National Bank of Greece as well as staff at its affiliated companies. The bank's board of directors approved the programme's implementation regulation on November 30, 2023, setting out the rules governing eligibility, deferral, and retention requirements.
The buyback programme that underpins the scheme was subsequently amended at a further annual general meeting on July 25, 2024, and received formal approval from the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) on September 3, 2024. That regulatory green light remained valid for one year, expiring on September 2, 2025. The treasury shares ultimately used for this latest distribution were acquired between June 18, 2024 and May 12, 2025.
Third Cycle Details
The board of directors approved the list of beneficiaries for the third cycle on March 28, 2025, ahead of the bank's annual general meeting held on May 30, 2025. The allocated shares form part of NBG's Common Equity Tier 1 instruments — a key measure of a bank's core financial strength under international regulatory standards.
Beneficiaries do not receive unrestricted access to the shares immediately. The distribution is subject to deferral and retention requirements set out in the programme regulation, and all granted shares carry a mandatory holding period of twelve months before they may be freely traded.
Treasury Share Position After Allocation
Following the completion of the distribution, the National Bank of Greece directly holds 16,083,018 treasury shares, equivalent to 1.76 per cent of its total share capital. The use of treasury shares acquired under the buyback programme means the allocation does not require the issuance of new shares, avoiding any dilution of existing shareholders' stakes.
The 2023 Stock Awards Programme reflects a broader trend among major European banks of linking part of employee compensation to share ownership, aligning staff interests with long-term institutional performance while remaining subject to regulatory oversight from bodies such as the SSM.
