Eurobank Ergasias

The Greek banking system has radically changed over the past two decades. Mergers and acquisitions had already begun in the late 1980s, but it was two significant events 20 years ago that marked the beginning of a process that has led to the consolidation of the country's banking sector in the dominant "big four" (Alpha Bank, Eurobank, National Bank of Greece and Piraeus Bank).

The greatest challenge facing Greek banks is to reduce their very high level of nonperforming loans, says credit rating agency Moody's.

Bidding for the sale of two property portfolios owned by Eurobank is expected to be completed early next week, at the latest. 

The second half of Wednesday's bourse session in Athens saw the return of buyers, who focused on certain blue chips like banks and oversold Public Power Corporation, but also Lamda Development and Mytilineos, on the back of important corporate developments.

Moody's changed its deposit rating on Greek banks Alpha, Eurobank and National to positive from stable, citing expectations of further improvement in asset quality, the ratings agency said on Tuesday.
Moody's said stronger than 2 percent annual economic growth in the coming years would support banks' efforts to reduce their large stock of sour loans.

The Greek stock market recovered on Wednesday from a two-day sell-off that saw banks shed over 12 percent of their stock value, as the benchmark jumped back above the 860-point level, albeit on lower trading volume. The market appears quite volatile, in contrast to the months leading up to the May 26 European elections.

European slaps on Athens' wrist over handouts by the previous government that are seen endangering the budget's targets, inflicted extensive losses on Greek stocks on Tuesday, and came hand-in-hand with a rise in Greek bond yields. Sazka's public offering for OPAP shares it does not own did not help prices either.

Eurobank announced on Thursday that the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) is fueling the promotion of international trade in Greece with a 15-million-euro trade finance facility to Eurobank Factors (EF).

Greece's third-largest lender Eurobank agreed to sell mezzanine and junior notes of a 2.0 billion euro securitized pool of non-performing mortgage loans to a unit of US funds group Pimco as part of efforts to clean up its balance sheet.

Eurobank on Wednesday announced the launch of the Eurobank Digital Academy for Business, a digital skills resource center for Greek companies that treat technology as a key enabler and digital transformation as a growth strategy and a means to gain a competitive edge.