Despite market rumors, National Bank feels upbeat about growth
Prospects for the Greek banking sector look good this year, on the back of healthy profitability indicators, according to National Bank of Greece (NBG) in its February-March economic analysis released yesterday. The study pointed to the sector’s buoyant return on average assets last year, which was double the corresponding ratio for European banks, and the return on equity, which significantly exceeded the European figure. Equally important was the sector’s higher efficiency ratio compared with its European peers, underpinning NBG’s optimism. «Looking to 2002, the prospects for Greek banks are positive,» the bank said in its report. The report said the sector should see growth in commission income, as Greeks move toward sophisticated savings products, helping to offset declines in the bond portfolio. It said that banks were committed to improving themselves, as evident in their unchanged dividends for 2001, with the dividend yield at 4.1 percent, significantly above the European sector yield of 3.4 percent. NBG’s upbeat assessment came as the banking sector continued to feel the heat from Alpha Bank head Yiannis Costopoulos’s forecast of lower first-quarter earnings. The banking subindex fell by 2.13 percent yesterday, while Alpha’s stock plunged 5.27 percent after a 2.89-percent decline the previous day. NBG’s shares were down by 1.31 percent.
