S&P Raises Credit Ratings on Greek Banks
S&P Global Ratings on Tuesday raised its long and short term issuer credit ratings on four Greek banks, Alpha Bank, Eurobank Ergasias, National Bank of Greece, and Piraeus Bank to 'B-/B' from 'CCC+/C' and said the outlook on them is stable.
In an announcement, S&P said at the same time it raised the issue ratings on the banks' subordinated debt to 'CCC' from 'CC', affirmed the rating on Alpha Bank's preferred shares at 'D' and also assigned 'B-/B' long- and short-term resolution counterparty ratings (RCRs) to Alpha, Eurobank, NBG, and Piraeus.
The upgrades follow Greece successfully completing the fourth review of the ESM program and our expectation that the sovereign will exit the program in August 2018. "The upgrades also reflect our view that improved liquidity and a growing economy will support Greek banks' capacity to sustain financial commitments and gradually improve their balance sheets over the long term. Specifically, we expect depositors' and investors' confidence in the banking sector will improve following the recent successful completion of the fourth review," the credit rating agency said.