Moody’s upgrades Eurobank’s, National’s outlook
Credit ratings agency Moody’s changed Eurobank’s and National Bank’s outlook for their Baa2 senior unsecured debt and long-term deposit ratings to positive from stable, “following the outlook change to positive from stable in the Government of Greece’s Ba1 issuer rating.”
Moody’s is the only one among major credit ratings agencies that has not given Greece’s debt an investment grade.
Moody’s have also affirmed all of the banks’ outstanding ratings and assessments, including long- and short-term deposit ratings, the long-term senior unsecured ratings, the standalone Baseline Credit Assessment (BCA) and Adjusted BCA, the long- and short-term Counterparty Risk Ratings and Assessments and the subordinated debt ratings.
In its ratings rationale, Moody’s mentions that their credit ratings are “constrained by the sovereign rating of Ba1 in view of the (banks’) sizable exposure to the Greek government through T-bills and bonds,” comprising 77% and 105%,respectively, of their common equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital.
On Eurobank, Moody’s that the outlook upgrade reflects “its robust financial performance in recent years and its geographically diversified asset base and earnings.”
Likewise, for the National Bank, the outlook upgrade “takes into consideration the bank’s strong financial performance and improving fundamentals over the last few years.”
