S&P upgrades rating of five Greek banks

Standard & Poor's upgraded the long-term credit rating of the four systemic banks and Aegean Baltic Bank on Thursday, placing National and Eurobank one step before investment grade and, respectively, Alpha Bank and Piraeus two notches below investment grade.

S&P upgraded the long-term credit rating of National to BB+ from BB, keeping the short-term credit rating at B and the outlook positive. The upgrade reflects the bank's improved financial and financial outlook, which has reduced its nonperforming exposure (NPE) ratio to 3.7%, with provision coverage reaching a high of 85%. S&P estimates that the NPE ratio will further decline to below 3% by end-2025, so the cost of risk is forecast to decline to close to 50 basis points by the end of 2026 from 95 bp at the end of 2023.

Eurobank's long-term rating is raised to BB+ from BB, keeping the short-term rating at B and the...