Fitch Ratings has upgraded the ‘big four’ banks in Greece – National, Piraeus, Alpha, and 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.

Specifically, the upgrades are as follows:

• National Bank has been upgraded to BB+, one level below investment grade, from BB. This 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 healthy profitability resulting in capital accumulation.”
• Piraeus Bank was upgraded to BB from BB-.
• Eurobank was upgraded to BB+ from BB.
• Alpha Bank was upgraded to BB from BB-.

The improved outlook for Greece’s banking sector is attributed to the country’s strengthening economic performance, falling unemployment, and the deployment of the Recovery and Resilience Fund, which is expected to support banks’ ability to capture profitable business opportunities.