The credit rating agency Fitch upgraded the four Greek systemic banks – Ethnikis, Piraeus, Alpha Bank and Eurobank – which reflects, as it states in its announcements, the improved assessment of Greece’s operating environment to ‘bb+’.
Fitch upgraded the credit rating of National Bank and Eurobank to BB+ from BB and the credit rating of Alpha Bank and Piraeus Bank to BB from BB-. For all four banks, the outlook is positive.
“We expect the Greek economy to continue to outperform the Eurozone average. Combined with the reduction in unemployment and the implementation of the Recovery Fund, this is expected to support the ability of banks to take advantage of profitable business opportunities”, notes the house.
The upgrade also reflects the continued improvement in the banks’ standalone credit profiles, including a further reduction in their stock of “red” loans and their healthy profitability leading to capital accumulation, Fitch says.
The positive outlooks for National Bank and Eurobank reflect Fitch’s expectation that “its assessment of the operating environment could improve further if positive macroeconomic trends continue and lead to satisfactory business opportunities for the banks.”
Accordingly, the positive outlooks for Alpha Bank and Piraeus Bank reflect Fitch’s expectation that its assessment of the operating environment could improve further if positive macroeconomic trends continue and the standalone credit profiles of the two banks continue to strengthen.
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