Time to be selective on Greek banks as lower interest rates loom, MS says

Piraeus Bank SA

18/11/2024 07:21

** Morgan Stanley says that while Greek banks are attractive
as they are undervalued and benefit from a strong Greek economy,
future returns may be lower due to a potential economic slowdown
in Europe and lower interest rates
    ** It downgrades National Bank of Greece (NBG)  NBGr.AT  and
Piraeus Bank  BOPr.AT  to "equal-weight" from "overweight"
seeing interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank affecting
their net interest income (NII)
    ** The broker says NBG will be the most affected by the
lower interest rates as the bank has "the highest NII
sensitivity to rate cuts"
    ** It adds that Alpha Bank  ACBr.AT  is its preferred lender
in Greece as it is the less affected by interest rate cuts and
is currently undervalued compared to its peers; keeps its
"overweight" rating
    ** MS also reiterates its "overweight" rating on Eurobank
 EURBr.AT , saying the lender will benefit from its merger with
Hellenic Bank  HBNK.CY  and notes its strong balance sheet
    

 (Reporting by Antonis Pothitos)
 ((antonis.pothitos@thomsonreuters.com))