Banks start reporting 2017 results next week
Next week will see the country’s systemic banks start to release their financial results for 2017, which will be of particular interest given that they will incorporate the additional provisions in the context of the new international financial reporting standards (IFRS 9). Crucially, the 2017 results will form the basis for the stress tests that the European Central Bank is currently conducting.
Eurobank will be the first to issue its results for last year on Monday, March 12, with Alpha Bank following a week later, on March 20. National and Piraeus Bank have not yet announced when they will release their results.
According to bank officials, the picture will be positive across the board, with an increase in deposits, a decline in dependence on the emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) and a further strengthening of their capital base. The picture on the nonperforming loans front is even more favorable, as lenders have achieved the biggest reduction of bad loans since the outbreak of the financial crisis.
Credit sector sources estimate that the additional provisions from IFRS 9 will amount to a total of 5.5 billion euros. However, this will not burden the banks’ assets and will not be taken into account for the stress tests.
