Moody's upgrades six Greek banks

Moody's Investors Service (Moody's) has today upgraded the long-term deposit ratings of National Bank of Greece SA, Alpha Bank AE and Eurobank Ergasias SA to Caa1 from Caa2.

The agency also affirmed Piraeus Bank SA's and Pancretan Cooperative Bank Ltd.'s long-term deposit rating at Caa2, along with Attica Bank SA's long-term deposit rating at Caa3.

The agency also upgraded the long-term counterparty risk assessments of Piraeus Bank, National Bank of Greece, Alpha Bank and Eurobank Ergasias to B2(cr) from B3(cr), along with the counterparty risk assessments of Attica Bank to B3(cr) from Caa1(cr).

The agency affirmed the counterparty risk assessment of Pancretan Cooperative Bank at B3(cr).

The long-term counterparty risk ratings of National Bank of Greece and Eurobank Ergasias were upgraded to B2 from Caa1, while the counterparty risk ratings of Piraeus Bank and Alpha Bank were upgraded to B3 from Caa1.

Attica Bank long-term counterparty risk rating was upgraded to Caa1 from Caa2 and Pancretan Cooperative Bank counterparty risk rating was affirmed at B3.

The upgrades follow a recent rating upgrade of the government of Greece, Moody's said.

The upgrades also are driven by the improving economic conditions and more benign operating environment for the banks, the agency said.

The outlooks on the banks are positive, reflecting an expectation for further improvements in banks' underlying financial fundamentals through lower level of problem loans, increasing customer deposits and gradual enhancement of their weak profitability, Moody's added.

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