In regards to the latest newspaper report which correlates yesterday's price reduction of ATEbank's stock price to the margin calls associated with a Carlyle Fund, ATEbank announces the following:
ATEbank participates in four different and independent equity funds of the Carlyle Group. None of these investment funds are leveraged or face any problems and are not related or exposed to the sub-prime loans.
The capital invested by ATEbank at the above equity funds amounts to 52 million euro and for the 2007 fiscal year the interest earned was 11.9 million euro.
Consequently the newspapers report, regarding ATEbank is completely inaccurate.