Banks have been battered since 2015
The three-week holiday forced upon Greek banks in July 2015, after the capital controls were imposed on June 28, has been the credit sector’s main event to date since the outbreak of the economic crisis. This ongoing situation, a festering wound for banks, which mainly affects the return of deposits, is clearly reflected in stock prices.
Two days before the so-called bank holiday and the imposition of capital controls, the banks index at Athinon Avenue had closed at 13,175.20 points. The index has since suffered a loss of 93.9 percent.
The picture is negative in the first couple of months of this year alone, as the capitalization of the four systemic banks has dropped from 8.42 billion euros at the end of December to 7.77 billion: a loss of 653 million euros in the stock value of Alpha, National, Piraeus and Eurobank in less than two months.
International observers report that the main challenges Greek banks face are the return of deposits, the reduction of bad loans, the further easing of capital controls, and a return to profit. These matters will be on the agenda of talks Greek bank representatives are set to hold with investors at the Morgan Stanley conference in London on March 21-23.
