National Bank of Greece reports strong return on equity
National Bank of Greece announced a first-half profit after tax of €530 million Tuesday, slightly lower than the €546 million posted in the first half of 2022.
Core profit after tax stood at €508 million for the half, of which €288 million was in the second quarter, with return on tangible equity exceeding 16%, the bank said.
Net interest income picked up 11% quarter-on-quarter in Q2, “reflecting ECB base rate repricing, far offsetting loan spread tightening and higher deposit and [minimum fund and liabilities] costs,” NBG said.
Net interest margin rose by about 40 basis points (0.4%) quarter-on-quarter.
The bank further remarked that it successfully contained operating costs, which rose about 3% on an annual basis, and 1% for payroll and general administration costs, despite pay raises and the still significant, although declining, inflationary pressure.
Excess liquidity stood at nearly €7 billion at the end of H1, a gain of about €1 billion quarter-on-quarter.
Disbursements rose 22% quarter-on-quarter to €1.4 billion in Q2, while domestic deposits rose 2%, partly reversing the previous quarter’s decline, due mostly to higher business loan repayments, the bank said.
The bank believes better times are ahead as “the Greek economy is at a favorable and rare economic and political conjuncture,” said CEO Pavlos Mylonas.
