S&P alters Greek bank view to positive

S&P said it revised the outlooks on Alpha Bank SA, Alpha Services and Holdings SA, Eurobank SA, National Bank of Greece SA and Piraeus Bank SA to positive from stable and affirmed their ratings.

“Large Greek banks have managed to clean-up about €50 billion of legacy bad assets since 2019, reducing the stock of nonperforming assets (NPAs) to €19.4 billion, or 15.9% of gross loans, at end-2021,” the agency said in a press release. The systemwide NPA ratio in 2019 was 42%.

“As the clean-up of NPAs nears completion, banks will likely prioritize restoring earnings, better placing them to deal with competitive challenges. We expect profitability to substantially improve, supported by lower loan-loss provisions, resumed demand for loans, and a focus on controlling operational expenditure,” S&P added.

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