GS positive on Greek banks on growth, dividend prospects

Piraeus Bank SA

16/04/2024 12:48

** Goldman Sachs says it remains constructive on Greek
banks, noting continuous growth in 2023 results and solid
medium-term outlooks
    ** For 2023, Greek banks posted average profit growth of
14%, CET1 ratio of 15.6% and NPE ratio of around 4% at a
coverage of 66%, GS says
    ** "These metrics are now within a range of 'normal' average
levels for banks in Emerging Markets and Europe," it says
    ** After a decade-long pause in dividend distributions,
Greek banks plan to pay the first dividend for FY 2023, which GS
expects to be declared in Q2 2024
    ** It upgrades Eurobank  EURBr.AT  to "buy" from "neutral",
saying it is on track for 2025-2026 targets
    ** It keeps "buy" on Piraeus Bank  BOPr.AT  and National
Bank of Greece  NBGr.AT , saying both are undervalued
    ** It downgrades Alpha  ACBr.AT  to "neutral" from "buy" and
cuts PT to 1.95 euros from 2.11 euros
    ** FTSE/Athex Greek Banks Indice  .FTATBNK  is up 9.78% YTD

 (Reporting by Antonis Triantafyllou)
 ((Antonis.triantafyllou@tr.com))