Fitch upgrades Greek banks

Fitch Ratings has upgraded Greece's 'big four' banks (National, Piraeus, Alpha, Eurobank), giving them all a positive outlook.

"The upgrades mainly reflect Fitch's improved assessment of Greece's operating environment (OE) to 'bb+'. We expect the Greek economy to continue to outperform the eurozone average. Paired with falling unemployment and the deployment of the country's Recovery and Resilience Fund, this should support banks' ability to capture profitable business opportunities," the credit ratings agency said.

National Bank has been upgraded to BB+, one level below investment grade, from BB, 

Beside the country's assessment, Fitch said that the upgrade reflects "continued improvements in NBG's standalone credit profile, including a further reduction in the stock of problem assets (which include nonperforming exposures (NPEs) and net foreclosed assets) and...