UPDATE: Greece's NBG Boosts Capital Through Debt Buyback 
        -- NBG bracing for impact of Greek debt restructuring 
    -- Move follows similar capital boosting plans by other banks 
    
-- Other Greek banks may follow suit 
    (Rewrites, adds detail, quotes and context throughout.) 
      By Alkman Granitsas     Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES      ATHENS (Dow Jones)--National Bank of Greece SA (NBG), the country's  leading lender by assets, said Monday it has completed a program to buy  back outstanding covered and hybrid securities in an effort to boost its  capital base. 
    NBG said the program--involving the buy-back of its 2016-dated covered  bond and five hybrid Tier 1 bonds--would boost its core Tier 1 capital  ratio by about EUR302 million. Prior to the transaction, NBG had a core  Tier 1 ratio of 11%. Based on the bank's risk-weighted assets in the  third quarter last year, the ratio would be lifted by 46 basis points. 
    The buyback program is the latest in a series of moves by the Greek  lender to strengthen its balance sheet ahead of a planned Greek debt  restructuring that is expected to lead to billions of euros in losses. 
    It also follows similar moves by other European lenders over the past  year--including banks such as Barclays PLC (BCS), Commerzbank AG  (CBK.XE), and BNP Paribas SA (13110.FR)--to buy back outstanding debt  instruments at discounted prices in a move to reduce liabilities and  shore up their balance sheets. 
    
"With the pressure on banks to raise their capital, we have seen an  increase in these types of transactions over the past six to 12 months,"  said a banker familiar with the deal. "Other Greek banks may also  follow." 
    NBG purchased the covered bond at 70% of face value, and the hybrid  bonds at 45%. Participation rates ranged between 46% and 70% for the  hybrid bonds, and 43% for the covered bond. 
    Greek banks are facing enormous losses from a planned restructuring of  Greece's public debt. At the instigation of its European partners,  Greece agreed in October that it would negotiate a "voluntary" debt  write-down aimed at a 50% cut in the face value of Greek bonds held by  the private sector. 
    In December, the International Monetary Fund estimated Greece's top  six lenders will require a total capital boost of up to EUR17 billion to  cope with the debt write-down. In addition, the banks are bracing for  the results of an external audit by consulting firm Blackrock Solutions  that is expected to call for higher provisions to cover bad debts. 
    Those losses will deal a sharp blow to the banks' capital adequacy,  and may drive them to seek government bailouts in order to meet  regulatory capital requirements. But at a cost: depending on the size of  the bailout, many of the banks fear they will wind up majority-owned by  the Greek state. 
    NBG is facing estimated losses of around EUR3 billion from the debt  write-down plan and would need that much to recapitalize in order to  meet a 10% core Tier 1 threshold set for Greek lenders by the Bank of  Greece. 
    To minimize the amount of money it would have to seek from the Greek  government, NBG has begun implementing a capital plan to cover that gap.  Apart from the bond buy back, last month NBG shareholders approved a  plan to tap EUR1 billion from an existing, three-year-old government  support scheme. 
    Previously, the bank has said it will sell down a 20% to 25% stake in  its Turkish Finansbank unit, which it hopes will raise about EUR1  billion. 
    The bank has also initiated talks with its employees' union in an  effort to cut wage costs, and is mulling plans to sell off a hotel  subsidiary in a posh seaside suburb of Athens.
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120116-706835.html