Piraeus Bank

The Athens Stock Exchange proved unable to hang on to early gains recorded on Tuesday. The ASE general index, which got close to its highest levels since 2014, ended down 0.84%, closing at 1,324.28 points.

Negative trends in other European stockmarkets finally were felt in Athens.

Blue chips lost 0.91% and mid-caps dropped 1.35%. Banks lost 0.78%.

Piraeus Bank, Greece's third-largest lender by market value, on Monday reported higher net earnings for the second quarter from the same period last year on a rise in net interest income.

Greek banks hope to pay out dividends in 2024 for the first time since 2010, when the country's debt crisis erupted.

Greek banks comfortably passed the capital adequacy stress tests conducted by the European Banking Authority (EBA), the latter announced on Friday.

Notably, in the adverse scenario for 2025, National Bank shows a CET1 of 14.5%, Eurobank 12.2%, Piraeus Bank 9.1% and Alpha Bank 8.9%.

Greece will start selling stakes in its four largest banks this fall, sector officials and bankers said on Monday, marking the latest milestone in the country's recovery from the financial meltdown it suffered starting in 2009.

Greek banks continue to increase financing to shipping companies, contrary to the European trend that shows a limitation of banks' exposure to the sector.

According to the latest available data, Greek banks increased their portfolio by 4.6% to $13 billion, from $12.5 billion the previous year.

A balanced session with particularly low turnover brought the week to a close at the Greek stock market as external pressures were mostly offset by the upward moves by blue chip heavyweights Coca-Cola HBC and Piraeus Bank. The slip of the main index took the weekly result from a rise to a marginal loss.

The disinvestment program of the state from its holdings in banks will be fully implemented from this fall, starting with Eurobank and the allocation of its 1.4% stake.

Up next will be National Bank, in which the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF) has the largest stake, amounting to 40.39%.

The Greek bourse benchmark halted its six-session rising streak on Wednesday, with the main index coming off a nine-year high to concede a little ground and losing stocks narrowly edging out the gainers on the day.

Banks have entered the market for selling or even renting real estate, disposing of real estate they already own. This disposal is done through websites they have created and on which they upload privately owned properties acquired through auctions, or display properties that are going to be auctioned at the initiative of the bank.

Piraeus Bank, the country's third-largest lender by market value, reported higher quarterly net earnings on Friday on strong net interest income.

The bank, which is 27% owned by the state's HFSF bank rescue fund, reported net earnings of 180 million euros in the first three months of the year, compared with a profit of 170 million euros in the last quarter of 2022.