Report
Andreas Souvleros, CFA
EUR 300.00 For Business Accounts Only

GREEK BANKS | Laggards No More

Profit momentum continuing unfettered in Q2’23… – Managements' concerns over rising deposit betas have proved excessive in hindsight as migration to term deposits seems to have remained limited in Q2 (2-3% q/q) with a low pass-through rate (70% ytd, partly propelled by earnings upgrades (12m fwd EPS +40% ytd) and partly by re-rating. With the sector still at 5.7x 2024e PE and 0.68x 2024e P/TBV, there is further upside in our view, especially as current prices still incorporate CoE in the mid-teens. As the debate gradually shifts to the sustainable RoTE levels, as rates retrace lower by 2025, we expect the shares to trade in sync with conviction about the extent to which sustainable RoTE (2025) can surpass the 11-12% level. With these in mind, we feel the combination of still conservative estimates (2025e RoTE c11%), attractive valuations, and upcoming catalysts (e.g. Greece’s potential return to IG status) make up a compelling case. As such, we reiterate our “Buy” for all banks on higher PTs (estimate upgrades and lower CoE), with Piraeus remaining our top pick given the solid execution, attractive valuation and a potential inclusion in MSCI Greece.
Underlyings
Alpha Bank AE

Alpha Bank is a banking and financial services group which is based in Greece. Co. is engaged in offering a range of services including retail, SME and corporate banking, credit cards, asset management, investment banking, private banking, brokerage, leasing and factoring. Co. is also active in international financial market, with a presence in Cyprus, Romania, London, Serbia, Albania, Jersey (Channel Islands), Bulgaria, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and New York. Co. maintains a focus on retail banking in Greece and particularly loans to individuals and small business loans, and overall expansion in Southeastern Europe. Co.'s activities are divided into retail and wholesale banking.

Eurobank Ergasias Services & Holdings SA

Eurobank Ergasias and its subsidiaries are organized in the following reportable segments: Retail. which incorporates customer current accounts, savings, deposits and investment savings products, credit and debit cards, consumer loans, small business banking and mortgages; Corporate, which incorporates direct debit facilities, current accounts, deposits, overdrafts, loan and other credit facilities, foreign currency and derivative products; Wealth Management, which incorporates private banking services; Global and Capital Markets, which incorporates investment banking services; and International, which incorporates operations in Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Cyprus, Ukraine and Luxembourg.

National Bank of Greece S.A.

National Bank of Greece is a financial institution based in Greece. Co. maintains operations in the retail banking sector, with 509 branches and one premium banking branch, and 1,448 ATMs. Co. offers its customers a range of integrated financial services, including: corporate and investment banking; retail banking (including mortgage lending); leasing and factoring; stock brokerage and asset management; insurance; and real estate and consulting services. Co. is also involved in other businesses, including hotel and property management. Co. operates in Greece, U.K., South Eastern Europe which includes Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, Serbia, as well as, in Cyprus, Malta, Egypt and South Africa.

Piraeus Financial Holdings S.A.

Piraeus Bank is a banking institute. Co. and its subsidiaries provide services in the Southeastern Europe, Egypt, as well as Western European markets. Co. and its subsidiaries operate in four main business segments: Retail Banking, which includes the retail banking facilities; Corporate Banking, which includes facilities related to corporate banking; Investment Banking, which includes activities related to investment banking facilities of Co. and its subsidiaries, including investment and advisory services, underwriting services and public listings, and stock exchange services; and Asset Management and Treasury, which includes asset management facilities for clients.

Provider
Eurobank Equities
Eurobank Equities

Eurobank Equities is a Greek-based firm offering research, sales and trading services to institutional, corporate and private clients. The company is wholly owned by Eurobank, one of the 4 systemic banks in Greece.

Research is the backbone of Eurobank Equities' platform, with a team of 4 professionals committed to generating actionable investment ideas by providing timely research products. We are committed to offering value-added services to clients by filtering market noise and providing insights on the multiple sectors that we cover. Our universe includes 26 - large, medium and small cap - companies whose market capitalization amounts to 80-85% of the total market capitalization of the Athens Stock Exchange. Our research team also maintains the capacity to generate ad-hoc research for micro-cap listed companies.

Our team has consistently gained recognition among institutional investors for its quality research, having ranked No. 1 team in Greece at the Extel Surveys of 2013-2016 and 2018. We have also been named Leading Brokerage Firm in Greece over 2014-2016 and in 2018.

Analysts
Andreas Souvleros, CFA

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