Fitch Ratings on Thursday revised, upwards, its outlook four Greece’s four systemic banks – Alpha Bank, Eurobank, National Bank of Greece (NBG) and Piraeus Bank – to positive from stable. The development comes after the ratings firm upgraded Greek state bonds to investment grade earlier this month.
All issuer and debt ratings were affirmed, namely, NBG and Eurobank ‘BB’ with a positive outlook, whereas Alpha Bank and Piraeus Bank received a ‘BB-‘ with positive outlook.
According to firm”…the outlook revision reflects Fitch’s view that Greece’s attainment of an investment-grade rating will be beneficial to Greek banks’ operating environment (OE) by improving the country’s business sentiment, ultimately helping the banks to grow business volumes without compromising their risk profiles. Combined with sustained improved economic confidence and strong investment performance, this will likely lead to an upgrade of our OE assessment within the rating horizon.”
