ATHENS – According to a report on Greece’s four systemic banks (Alpha Bank, Eurobank, National Bank, and Piraeus Bank) by credit rating agency DBRS, Greek banks’ profile is solid. Their capital base and asset quality have improved, while their revenue growth has increased significantly.

Specifically, the credit rating agency stated that Greek banks reported an aggregate net profit of €3.7 billion in 2022, which compares to a net loss of €4.7 billion in 2021. Revenues in 2022 improved in all streams, including net interest income (NII), net fees, and other income. Cost management remained sound despite inflationary pressures. Loan loss provisions and cost of risk were markedly down in 2022, and asset quality improved further in the year due to de-risking, low new non-performing exposure (NPE) inflows, and higher new loans. Greek banks have a rather stable, albeit moderately diversified, funding mix, thanks to their ample, growing, and mostly granular deposit bases. Liquidity was sound, and capitalization improved after the previous impact of de-risking.

“The 2022 results benefited from higher revenues, lower operating expenses, and reduced credit costs. The faster repricing of loans than deposits has contributed to an increase in NII to date. However, we expect this to reduce due to higher funding costs,” said Andrea Constanzo, vice president of the DBRS Morgningstar Global Financial Institutions team. “Capital buffers are sufficient to absorb unrealized losses on the fixed income securities at amortized cost, in the event that these materialize due to any funding and liquidity stress after the collapse of SVB and Signature Bank in the US,” the credit rating company said.