Greek banks’ future appears bright, reports claim

A flurry of reports on the Greek credit sector confirmed the positive view held by foreign firms on local banks these days.

HSBC argued that mood toward Greece keeps improving, with advances in consumer confidence and the financial sentiment indexes, narrowing Greek spreads and growth in property prices. Yet, despite the favorable macroeconomic developments, Greek bank stock valuations have not moved any higher after the July post-election rally.

The lender is therefore upgrading its recommendation from “hold” to “buy” for Eurobank, National and Piraeus and retaining its “buy” recommendation for Alpha, stressing that a more positive attitude toward the four systemic banks is absolutely justified.

JP Morgan noted that the third quarter will have brought profits to local banks, with a positive trend in operating profits as the 6 percent rise in commissions and continuing cost containment will offset any pressures on net revenues from interest.

For its part, Deutsche Bank said that on a quarterly level, the reduction of nonperforming exposures will reach 2.5 percent, and 15 percent year-on-year for Greek lenders.