Greek private Piraeus Bank will buy the healthy assets of the ailing state-run Agricultural Bank of Greece (ATEBank), the two lenders and the country's central bank announced on Friday.

The amount for the purchase has not been disclosed yet, but the absorption represents the first consolidation step in the local banking sector, which is under enormous stress due to the severe Greek sovereign debt crisis since 2009.

Following the absorption of the healthy part of ATEBank which is split from the "bad" non-performing part, as of the coming Monday, Piraeus Bank, Greece's fourth largest lender, will have total assets of about 75 billion euros (92 billion US dollars), a network of 1,230 branches across Greece with 17,000 employees, as well as presence in nine countries.

"The decision was made in order to safeguard deposits and the stability of the financial sector," Piraeus Bank and Bank of Greece, the country's central bank, stressed in statements released to the press.

The Greek government and international lenders have encouraged mergers of Greek banks as part of the efforts to tackle the Greek crisis.

In May, Greece's four largest lenders got an 18-billion-euro boost in capital under bailout deals which keep the country afloat and in the eurozone. The decision was made to make up for the losses they suffered from the voluntary "haircut" of part of the Greek debt load earlier this year.

ATEBank was excluded, since it failed European stress tests in 2011 and the option of its restructuring and sale prevailed. (1 euro = 1.2 US dollars)