Definitely not out of the woods yet
With Greece’s largest banks scheduled to start reporting third-quarter earnings this week, the sector is expected to show a 70 percent drop in profit on trading losses and higher provisions, according to Eurobank EFG’s equity research department. ‘Net interest income could be marginally higher on a yearly basis but weaker sequentially as deposit margin erosion bites into income generation,’ it said in a report yesterday. Fees and commissions from other core banking revenue lines are also anticipated to be weaker due to lower activity, it added. In a report titled ‘Definitely Not out of the Woods Yet,’ the brokerage said that European Central Bank funding to Greek lenders remains high but has started to ease as deposit balances stabilize. Alpha Bank is scheduled to report third-quarter figures on Tuesday before its ATEbank’s turn on Wednesday. National Bank is set to report profit on November 30.
