The consolidation plan of the cooperative banks is in full progress, following the revoking of the license of Olympus Cooperative Bank and the transfer of the deposits it held to National Bank of Greece.

The Bank of Greece announced that the revocation of the operating license was because the cooperative lender “did not have the minimum equity capital required nor did it manage to raise the required funds after the impractical expiry of the deadline it had been given.” Olympus Cooperative was the result of the absorption of the Cooperative Bank of Evros by the Cooperative Bank of Drama.

The decision is part of the wider strategy for the concentration of cooperative banks, through moves such as the absorption of the Cooperative Bank of Central Macedonia by Pancreta Bank, which is expected to be completed by the end of September this year. It was preceded by Pancreta’s share capital increase of €98.7 million with the entry of Thrivest Holdings.

Kathimerini understands that the consolidation drive being launched includes the share capital increase planned by the Cooperative Bank of Epirus, while the issue of the Hania Cooperative Bank remains open – after the collapse of talks with Pancreta – without currently facing any direct capital aid problems.

After these moves, the sector of cooperative banks has shrunk significantly and now has only four banks, i.e. the Karditsa Cooperative Bank, which is also the healthiest cooperative with a nonperforming loan ratio of 17% and a total capital adequacy ratio of 21% (based on of 2021), the Cooperative Bank of Epirus (with assets of €287 million and a capital adequacy ratio of 16%), the Cooperative Bank of Thessaly (with assets of €302 million and a capital adequacy ratio of 13.8%) and that of Hania, which is the largest cooperative with assets of €680 million, loans of €487 million, an NPL ratio of 48% and total capital adequacy ratio of 13% (2021 data).

As far as the Olympus Cooperative Bank is concerned, the deposits amounting to €80-85 million are being transferred to NBG and according to the announcement by the systemic lender, “they are fully guaranteed.”

Original Story: Kathimerini | Evegenia Tzortzi
Photo: Heafquarters Bank of Greece
Edition: Prime Yield

The first clear signs of recovery in the banking system and its return to healthy organic profitability have emerged from the results for 2022, which will be the first profitable year after the last recapitalization of Greece’s lenders, according to Kathimerini news.

Pending the announcements by the three systemic banks – Alpha, National and Eurobank – of the annual results for 2022 and the positive results announced by Piraeus Bank, the profitability target is being achieved after seven consecutive years of losses. Those losses of the four systemic banks totaled €18.2 billion, as a consequence of the high provisions they had to take in over the previous years to cover bad loans.

However, the full armoring of the banking system, which is called upon to further strengthen its capital by at least 150 basis points (b.p.) in order to reach the European average, has not been completed yet and, as has been pointed out by the most official source – the head of the Single Supervisory Mechanism’s supervisory board Andrea Enria in a recent interview with Kathimerini – the only way forward is to consolidate profitability.

Kathimerini understands the consolidation since 2016 has required accumulated provisions of more than €30 billion and, apart from a short break in 2019, has led to total losses of €9.5 billion in the 2016-2021 period (€18.2 billion since 2015) – which remain on the banks’ balance sheets and are offset against profits for the year.

Only recently did the four systemic banks in total record losses of €1.7 billion and €4.7 billion for the years 2020 and 2021 respectively, so that the cumulative result of the last three years remains strongly negative – over €3 billion – despite the positive 2022 result.

Estimates for 2022 raise profitability to €3.5 billion, but given that this result is also based on extraordinary gains, such as the sale of the card management division that brought in total revenues of €1.2 billion (before taxes for all four systemic banks), but also in significant non-recurring financial income, real profitability remains a key pursuit.

Original Story: Kathimerini | Evegenia Tzortzi 
Photo: Site Alpha Bank
Edition: Prime Yield

Eurobank and National Bank, Greece’s two largest lenders by market value, were profitable in the first nine months of 2022 as higher rates boosted net interest income.

Eurobank, Greece’s largest lender by market value, reported higher net profit in the nine months of 2022 compared to the same period a year earlier, boosted by stronger net interest, fee and commission income.

The bank reported net earnings of €1.106 billion up from 216 million in the first nine months of 2021. Net profit included gains of €231 million from the spin-off of its merchant acquiring business.

“On a backdrop of economic and geopolitical uncertainties, the Greek economy remains a positive outlier, with a growth rate estimate now at 6% for the year,” said Eurobank’s Chief Executive Fokion Karavias.

He said the bank’s performance exceeded guidance across all lines, with international activities a “steady contributor,” increasing profit by almost 40%.

Improvements in the economy and lower problem loans prompted ratings agency Moody’s to upgrade Greek banks earlier this week.

Eurobank grew net interest income by 8.1% year-on-year in the nine months to 1.1 billion euros, driven by bond income, lending and its international business.

Net fee and commission income rose 21.1% to €395 million, mainly from lending activities, network operations and its cards business.

The bank’s non-performing loan exposure (NPE) ratio fell to 5.6% at the end of September with the stock of bad loans decreasing to €2.4 billion.

Peer National Bank (NBG), Greece’s second-largest by market value, reported lower net earnings in the first nine months of 2022 compared to the same period a year earlier on the back of lower trading income.

NBG, 40 percent owned by the country’s HFSF bank rescue fund, said net earnings from continued operations reached €652 million from €732 million in the first nine months of 2021.

CEO Paul Mylonas said tourism was helping to drive economic growth and revenues were on track to reach a new all-time high while private sector profitability was also helping to cushion the inflationary induced shock to the real economy.

Amid the European Central Bank’s tighter policies, including the tightening of targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTRO), NBG’s strong and stable core deposit base and excess liquidity “become a strong comparative advantage,” he said.

NBG’s NPE dropped by about 20 basis points quarter-on-quarter to 5.9% at end-September, already below its 2022 target of about 6%.

Original Story: Ekathimerini |George Georgiopoulos 
Photo: Eurobank website
Edition: Prime Yield

Finance Minister Christos Staikouras urged servicers and other creditors to align their operations with the state towards an efficient and sustainable management of the private debt problem.

One of the government’s priorities since the beginning of its term is the maximum possible effort to address that problem, he said. Speaking in Parliament, Staikouras said that private arrears fell to 63.6% in the first half of 2022 from 70% in 2018, while the Greek private debt as a percentage of GDP fell to 125.5%, down from an European average of 162.5%.

He noted that NPLs fell to 10% of loan portfolios at the end of the first half of 2022, from 44% in 2019, with the help of the “Hercules” program. However, Staikouras stressed that despite a restructuring of banks’ balance sheets, private debt remained high, with NPLs held by banks totaling 15 billion euros and NPLs held by servicers totaling €87 billion.

He noted there was increased interest by civilians seeking a debt settlement through an out-of-court platform and said that he expected all related financial agencies to complete procedures. He stressed, however, that creditors continued rejecting a large volume of debt settlement requests and said there was significant room of improvement in this area.

Original Story: Ekathimerini | Newsroom 
Photo: Photo bu Toomas Järvet in FreeImages.com
Edition: Prime Yield

Alpha Bank, Greece’s third-largest lender by market value, reported lower net earnings in July-to-September compared with the second quarter on weaker fees and commissions but stronger net interest income.

Alpha Bank, which is 9% owned by Greece’s HFSF bank rescue fund, reported net earnings of 92.7 million euros versus a net profit of 117.3 million euros in the second quarter.

Alpha Bank delivered nine-month 2022 net earnings of 335.4 million euros after a loss of 2.498 billion in the same period a year earlier.

“This strong performance allows us to upgrade our profitability outlook for 2022 to 7% (from 6%),” Chief Executive Vassilis Psaltis said. “Net interest income increased by 12% quarter-on-quarter, to a large extent driven by loan growth.”

With Greece’s economy projected to expand by 2.0% next year, well above the EU average, the outlook for Alpha is “equally positive,” he said.

Improvements in the economy and lower problem loans prompted ratings agency Moody’s to upgrade Greek banks.

Loan growth and a positive impact from higher interest rates helped Alpha increase its net interest income by 12% to 339 million euros in the third quarter. Net fee and commission income fell 6.2% quarter-on-quarter to 92.9 million euros.

Loan impairment provisions fell 34.7% quarter-on-quarter to 58.3 million euros with the bank’s stock of so-called non-performing exposures (NPEs) in Greece flat at 3.2 billion euros.

Alpha Bank’s NPE ratio at a group level declined 20 basis points from the second quarter to 8.0% with clients’ payment behaviour “relatively resilient despite persistent inflation and higher energy costs,” it said. 

Original Story: Ekathimerini | Reuters 
Photo: Alpha Bank website
Edition: Prime Yield

The first consequences of increased uncertainty in the economy are reflected in Bank of Greece data on financing conditions for the coming quarter, with a decline in demand for housing loans due to a deterioration in consumer confidence.

Findings on demand from the business side point to things moving in the opposite direction, both concerning investment loans and working capital; this is mainly a consequence of the increased need to cover high operating costs, as well as the production gap of Greek businesses.

The opposite trends in the financing of households and businesses recorded in the quarterly BoG data on the conditions of bank financing do show some signs of resilience in the Greek economy: In contrast with the corresponding findings of the European Central Bank, it is found that banks have not tightened credit criteria, which remain unchanged in Greece from the previous quarters. A similar picture emerges from the rejection rate for loan requests, which has not changed substantially compared to previous quarters; most loan rejections concerned consumer and housing loans, while the rejection rates for business loans were low.

In contrast, the deterioration of economic conditions in the eurozone due to the rise in interest rates is more evident in bank credit, since, as the ECB observes, the intensifying fears of a recession and banks’ declining risk tolerance have had a significant impact on the credit criteria for loans to businesses, which were tightened, paving the way for the coming recession.

Declining demand for mortgages is a phenomenon observed across the eurozone, driven by rising inflation and interest rates, which puts pressure on households’ disposable income, affecting home-buying decisions, as opposed to businesses for which rising operating costs create increased working capital needs.

The estimates of the Bank of Greece on the continuation of credit expansion in the last quarter of the year are in line with the data recently presented to Parliament by the president of the Hellenic Bank Association, Alpha Bank Chairman Vassilis Rapanos, based on which bank loans amounted to 17.5 billion euros in January-August and will exceed €20 billion in 2022.

Original Story: Ekathimerini |Evgenia Tzortzi Photo: Photo by Svilen Milev in FreeImages.com
Edition: Prime Yield

Rising interest rates will provide a significant tailwind to Greek bank earnings this year and the next, Eurobank Equities said, rating Alpha Bank, National Bank and Piraeus  a “buy”.

In a research report, it said Greek bank shares were “out of sync with fundamentals”, up just 3% so far this year and trading at a steep 25% discount to peers in Europe’s periphery.

“A lot of bad news is priced in and we believe the risk-reward balance is tilted to the upside in the long run, given the ultra-low valuation, a 2023 price-to-book value of 0.3-0.5 times,” the report said.

While a sustained rally is not expected in the near term, given uncertainty over the impact of higher interest rates on economic growth and asset quality, there are factors that will offset global macroeconomic headwinds.

Greek banks will benefit from a new credit cycle following a decade of de-leveraging while rate hikes will boost their net interest income, Eurobank Equities said.

Greece’s economy is also proving resilient thanks to tourism while banks’ asset quality has improved in the last three years.

“Besides their higher sensitivity to rate hikes versus EU peers, Greek banks have additional levers to pull, including continuous cost–cutting and accelerated fee generation,” the report said.

Original Story: Reuters | George Georgiopoulos
Photo: Eurobank website
Edition:  Prime Yield

The Finance Ministry intends to refer to the Supreme Court Plenary a decision on bad-loan management companies and their competence to carry out auctions, which points to a new and serious problem for the implementation of the “Hercules” loan securitizations.

Given that it will take several months for a decision to be reached on the appeal to the Supreme Court Plenary, the right of servicers to perform acts of forced execution, such as real estate auctions, is called into question. This development, as estimated by representatives of the management companies, will be a strong blow for the securitizations of “Hercules,” which depend to a significant extent on the expected income from real estate liquidations.

To date, the four systemic banks have inducted into the “Hercules” securitization scheme of bad loans amounting to 47.9 billion euros and have received the guarantee of the Greek state for €18.7 billion. The government guarantee means that if the proceeds to be obtained from these loans through the arrangement and liquidations of assets, i.e. auctions, are not sufficient to pay the investors who have invested in the bonds issued under the securitizations, the state will be obliged to cover this damage through the guarantees it has undertaken in the context of the scheme.

The matter of whether servicers have the authority to carry out auctions has arisen in the wake of a recent Supreme Court decision which prohibits real estate auctions by companies acting as trustees of funds that have purchased bad loans under the “Hercules” state guarantee mechanism. The Supreme Court has issued three consecutive decisions on the matter, which have caused no end of confusion, as the first prohibits the relevant right for management companies, unlike the other two which legitimize their right to proceed with real estate auctions.

The confusion has been caused by a legislative loophole existing in the two securitization laws, which allows for different interpretations on the crucial issue of auctions, on which the implementation relies to a significant extent of the business plans for the securitizations that have been included in “Hercules.”

The decision to appeal to the Plenary represents a retreat by the ministry from its original intention to resolve the issue legislatively, by removing the legal loophole.

Original Story: Ekathimerini | Evgenia Tzortzi
Photo: Photo by Jonte Ramos in FreeImages.com
Edition: Prime Yield

Piraeus Bank SA and Resolute Asset Management Group have reached an agreement for Resolute to provide Piraeus with real estate services in Greece.

In this context, Piraeus Real Estate Management Single Member SA (“PREM”) has been acquired by Resolute Hellas Single Member SA. The agreement refers to real estate servicing, real estate valuation services, and asset and property management of Piraeus’ own-use and non-core properties in Greece.

Piraeus will receive state-of-the-art real estate services, and access to Resolute’s vast experience and expertskills. Resolute Hellas will utilize the specialized know-how of its parent and affiliate companies in the real estate segments, including the market leading technology provided by its technology affiliate, Recognyte, and the advanced agency and property services capabilities of REInvest Greece. 

For Piraeus, the transaction is part of its strategy for further cost efficiencies and targeted assets utilization, bringing cost savings of more than €5mn per annum. Resolute Hellas is a fully owned subsidiary of the Resolute Group. Resolute intends to fully integrate PREM’s operations and employees into its Greek activities, with the aim to further consolidate its market leadership in the Greek real estate servicing, asset management and advisory space. The transaction builds on Resolute’s existing long-standing relationship with the Piraeus Bank Group, including the ongoing management of its non-core real estate portfolio in Bulgaria.

Piraeus was advised by UBS Europe SE as financial advisor and Zeya Law Firm as legal counsel. Resolute was advised by KPMG as financial advisor and KG Law Firm as legal counsel.

Original Story: Resolute AM |Press Release 
Photo: Resolute Linked In
Edition: Prime Yield

National Bank and Piraeus Bank are heading to a change in the structure of the two pending securitizations, Frontier II and Sunrise III respectively, in order for the two portfolios to adapt to the requirements of Eurostat and to obtain the approval of the Finance Ministry for their inclusion in the Hercules scheme.

The new rule that Eurostat has set for the pending securitizations to be included in Hercules is for the mezzanine part of the securitization – i.e. what is sold to investors – to be at least 8% of the senior security.

Thus, if a securitization is e.g. 1 billion euros and the senior bond is €500 million, the mezzanine bond should be at least €40 million.

This rule has not been observed in most of the securitizations that have taken place to date, and for that reason Eurostat has raised the issue of registering the guarantees in the public debt.

Original Story: Ekathimerini | Newsroom 
Photo:Piraeus Bank
Edition: Prime Yield

The proposal of the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund on the three nominations from which the disposal adviser for a package of shares of National Bank of Greece will be chosen is already in the hands of Finance Minister Christos Staikouras.

Kathimerini understands the three candidates are Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan and Bank of America, and the minister will recommend the most suitable one in order to run the process of selling the NBG share package in the context of the official expression of interest submitted by the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund Public Investment Fund (PIF) for the acquisition of 20% of the lender.

The interest of PIF, which according to information has started due diligence at National, has taken on an exclusive character in discussions with the HFSF, which is committed until the end of November not to conduct corresponding discussions – at least officially – with another interested party.

The consultant to be selected will submit a valuation report to the HFSF and provide it with advisory support at all stages of the implementation of the transaction, if it proceeds.

Original Story: Ekathimerini | Newsroom 
Photo:Photo by Michalis Famelis / Wikimedia Commons
Edition: Prime Yield

Greek private sector bank deposits rose slightly in August for a fifth month in a row, central bank data showed.

Business and household bank deposits increased to €183.09 billion at the end of August from €182.93 billion in July, Bank of Greece data showed.

Greek banks’ deposit inflows had been rising since the beginning of 2021 as lockdowns to stem the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic put a dent in consumer spending.

Greece’s economy expanded from April to June at a slower pace than in the first quarter and its annual growth rate decelerated.

Original Story: Zawya | George Georgiopoulos 
Photo:Photo by Markellos P. from FreeImages
Edition: Prime Yield

Banks and companies that manage bad loans are concerned in view of the upcoming difficult winter in terms of energy rates, the new increase in interest rates that the ECB is expected to announce, and the increased obligations this period creates for households at the start of the school year.

Officials at banks and servicers are considering the possibility of measures to help borrowers, and despite the fact that so far the course of loan servicing is progressing smoothly, they all recognize the expediency of having an arsenal of measures if conditions worsen.

According to sources, emphasis should be placed on borrowers who are consistent with their repayments, with the aim of keeping alive banks’ serviced portfolios, and especially on those who have settled their debts and continue to comply with regulations. The aim is to prevent these loans from turning nonperforming and protect the arrangements made to date.

Competent banking sources insist that for now there are no thoughts on horizontal measures and that any arrangements be made at the request of debtors on the basis of individualized solutions, such as reducing their loan installments for a few months to be able to meet their obligations before being forced to default on a payment.

Banking sources explain that any intervention in performing portfolios in the form of a horizontal facility will have a serious impact on the provisions that the banks will have to take. This is because even if a loan is rearranged – that is, without turning bad – it goes into another category that requires increased provisions, which directly hits the banks’ profitability and undermines the effort to distribute dividends.

The test run for decisions in the near future will be the loans included so far in the state-subsidized Gefyra 1 and 2 programs, for loans which have started to expire and whose behavior will judge the endurance of households and businesses in continuing to service their debts.

Original Story: Kathimerini | Evgenia Tzortzi
Photo: Photo by Lotus Head in FreeImages
Edition: Prime Yield

Attica Bank has only a few days to submit its capital restructuring plan to the Bank of Greece, which would include the third, and largest, securitization of bad loans, subject to loan assessment by credit rating agency DBRS. 

The Omega portfolio would include €1.3 billion in bad loans and its sale will also determine the bank’s needed capital increase. 

Original Story: Ekathimerini | Newsroom 
Photo: Attica Bank Linked IN
Edition: Prime Yield

Debt collection agencies will start selling back to the banks portfolios of distressed loans that have been put back on a payment schedule.

The first such transaction, by loan recovery fund doValue, involves a portfolio of €100 million in mostly mortgages and is expected to take place late in 2022 or early 2023.

Original Story: Kathimerini | Newsroom 
Photo: Photo by Takis Kolokotronis in FreeImages
Edition: Prime Yield

The soaring of business financing recorded in the year’s first half with record new loans amounting to 4.2 billion euros has not kept pace with a parallel increase in worthy businesses. The majority – estimated at 80% – remain without banking credit, and the businesses with access to bank lending, according to all estimates, number approximately 50,000.

They are the target of banks in their effort to increase financing: “Competition among banks for a place in healthy entrepreneurship in the last half-year has spiraled out of all control and has become relentless,” bank executives tell Kathimerini.

It is no coincidence that amid an environment of rising interest rates, the spreads of Greek banks for new loans are decreasing, and despite the rise in the cost of money, banks are competing over who will land the best clients: These are businesses that have healthy fundamentals, can support business plans and initiatives, and stand confidently in front of the bank counter to claim a loan. 

Besides those 50,000, there are 200,000 businesses that, due to unfavorable economic data, either avoid borrowing or have their bank loan applications rejected.

“Unfortunately, banks are the only lending channel, and with the presence of fintechs shortly they will be hard put to find new clients,” emphasized Deputy Development Minister Yiannis Tsakiris, stressing the need to expand the pool of creditworthy businesses.

In a presentation of the Hellenic Development Bank’s work and the new financial tools it is planning, Tsakiris defended the need for state intervention with new tools where the banking market “fails,” underlining that the goal “is to increase the perimeter of solvent businesses from 40,000-50,000 today to 80,000 or 100,000,”

“If we succeed, we will have taken an important step in our effort to strengthen entrepreneurship,” he added, locating the problem in the fragmentation of Greek entrepreneurship into very small businesses.

The Bank of Greece estimates that Greek loan portfolios should reach €160-180 billion from €112 billion today, to fulfill banks’ role in the country’s economic growth.

Original Story: Kathimerini | Evgenia Tzortzi 
Photo: Photo by Jonte Remos from FreeImages
Edition: Prime Yield

HFSF currently controls 40.39% of the shares of National Bank, 27% of Piraeus Bank, 9% of Alpha Bank and 1.4% of Eurobank. In addition, it controls 62.93% of Attica Bank’s shares.

The Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF) will soon launch the procedures for the selection of a specialist consultant who will undertake the preparation of the fund’s disinvestment strategy from Greece’s lenders. The passing of the new institutional framework for the operation of HFSF, which includes an extension to the fund’s lifetime until the end of 2025, and the appointment of the new Board of Directors paves the way for the utilization of HFSF’s holdings in the banks, with the government pushing for the fastest return of banks to private ownership.

HFSF currently controls 40.39% of the shares of National Bank, 27% of Piraeus Bank, 9% of Alpha Bank and 1.4% of Eurobank. In addition, it controls 62.93% of Attica Bank’s shares. The total current value of the banking shares that HFSF has in its portfolio amounts to 1.69 billion euros, of which 66% is the value of National Bank’s stake

However, despite the government’s desire for the disinvestment to proceed quickly, it seems that this will require a fair bit of time: after the selection of the consultant, they will need sufficient time to study the data and propose strategies, and then HFSF’s management will proceed with the implementation, depending on market conditions. In any case, the disinvestment process should be completed by the end of the fund’s lifetime at the latest, i.e. by the end of 2025, with most of the parties involved, the government, the Bank of Greece and banks wanting this to happen as soon as possible, as the participation of an entity linked to the state in the share capital of commercial banks is seen as being a negative. After all, HFSF had a specific mission from the beginning, the recapitalization of banks and their quick return to private hands. It is no coincidence that in all the capital increases that the banks carried out, they sought to reduce HFSF’s participation. On the other hand, there are some within the HFSF who want the fund to evolve into a special type of investor that will also support the system, just as with Attica Bank. As far as the divestment is concerned, they argue that it should be done gradually and with very careful steps in order to maximize the amount that will be recovered from the share sale. Of course, all this now has a limited effect, as due to successive recapitalizations, HFSF has already lost most of its capital. As reflected in HFSF’s financial data at the end of September 2021, 38 billion euros of its initial funds amounting to 42 billion euros have been lost.

Original Story: Business Daily | Yiannis Papadogiannis 
Photo: Photo by Michalis Famelis / Wikimedia Commons
Edition: Prime Yield

It is premature to abolish an effective tool like the Hercules asset protection scheme, which expires in October 2022, given the challenges posed to Greek systemic banks by the spike in inflation and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Canada-based rating agency DBRS Morningstar notes.

“There is continuing uncertainty about the speed and volume of possible future deterioration of assets in the bank balance sheets,” the firm said.

It explained that inflationary pressures, rising energy prices as well as possible supply bottlenecks will put pressure on consumers and businesses.

The length of this price pressure and how it is offset by consumer protection and business support programs will play an important role in setting the trend for new nonperforming loans and their performance, it argued.

Original Story:  Ekatemerini | Newsroom 
Photo: Photo by Jonte Ramos in FreeImages
Edition: Prime Yield

National Bank (NBG), Greece’s second-largest lender by market value, reported higher net profit in January-to-March compared with last year’s fourth quarter on the back of higher trading and commission income.

NBG, 40% owned by the country’s HFSF bank rescue fund, said net earnings from continued operations reached  €208 million from  €100 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, beating analyst forecasts.

The bank had earned €583 million in last year’s first quarter.

Provisions for impaired loans dropped 27% year-on-year to  €56 million in the first quarter and were slightly down quarter-on-quarter as well.

On the asset quality front, NBG’s stock of so-called non-performing exposures (NPEs) continued to fall. Its NPE ratio dropped to 6.7% of its loan book from 7.0% at the end of December.

Despite uncertainty and inflationary pressures, the payment performance of clients receiving state sponsored support was reassuring, NBG said, with default rates in low single digits.

The bank said there were no signs of delinquencies due to the recent surge in Greek inflation, which hit 10.2% in April, a 28-year high.

“Looking forward, investment growth, a very strong start for the tourism season combined with fiscal support measures in energy cost relief will support Greece’s recovery,” said Chief Executive Paul Mylonas.

The group’s commission income grew 25% year-on-year, supported by increasing retail and corporate loan origination, with card and intermediation fees also driving the upswing.

Original Story: Hellenic Shipping News | Reuters
Photo: Photo by Michalis Famelis in Wikimedia Commons
Edition: Prime Yield

Αlpha Bank announced after-tax profits of 125.4 million euros in the first quarter of 2022, with adjusted after-tax profits at €134 million.

Vassilis Psaltis, CEO of the bank, commenting on the first-quarter results, said they confirmed Alpha Bank’s strong dynamism following the completion of a restructuring plan.

He noted that Alpha was on the way to achieving its goals for 2022 and predicted that the NPE ratio will drop into the single digits in the second half of the year.

Psaltis said credit expansion totaled €1 billion, based on new loan disbursements of €2.4 billion in the first three months.

Alpha said commission revenue surpassed €100 million in the first quarter.

Original Story: Ekatemerini | News| 
Photo: Alpha Bank website
Edition: Prime Yield