S&P lifts four Greek banks

S&P said it raised its long- and short-term counterparty credit ratings on four Greek banks, Alpha Bank AE, Eurobank Ergasias SA, National Bank of Greece SA and Piraeus Bank SA, to CCC+/C from SD.

The outlook on all four banks is stable.

At the same time, the agency affirmed all of its issue ratings on the four banks.

On July 22, the Greek government partly relaxed capital controls imposed in June 2015. The most important change concerns new cash deposits made in Greek banks, either in Greece or from abroad, which can now be withdrawn without any restrictions.

S&P said it views the lifting of this ban as a significant relaxation, as it could allow for cash deposits to be brought back into the banking system, raising confidence in the Greek banking sector.

The agency expects some minor deposit inflows in the coming months.

Of note, since the beginning of 2014, domestic deposits of €46.5 billion left the banking system until capital controls were imposed from end-June 2015, S&P said.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.