The impressive performance of listed banks on the Athens Exchange is expected to be reinforced today (5.8.2025) with Bank of Cyprus set to release its first-half results. The four major Greek banks collectively recorded nearly €2.5 billion in net profits, with interest and fee income surpassing €4 billion and €1.1 billion respectively. These strong H1 results, driven by increased credit expansion, have led bank executives to revise full-year targets upward and announce plans for special dividend distributions in Q4 2025.
Following these positive announcements from Greece’s largest banks — including Optima Bank last week — the banking sector dominated gains on the Athens Stock Exchange yesterday (4.8.2025). The banking index closed at 2,212 points, rising 4.4%. Alpha Bank led the rally, gaining 6.60% to close at €3.50, after announcing the acquisition of AXIA Ventures. Piraeus Bank followed with a 4.79% gain at €6.83, National Bank rose 4.11% to €12.55, and Eurobank gained 2.96% to close at €3.27.
Importantly, the four systemic banks passed the European Central Bank’s stress tests comfortably, maintaining adequate capital levels even under the most adverse scenarios through 2027. National Bank stood out particularly, posting the second-highest Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio among 51 SSM-supervised institutions and fifth overall among 64 banks tested by EBA. Under the adverse scenario, which projected a cumulative real GDP contraction of -6.1%, inflation of 11.6%, and significant property price drops, Greek banks demonstrated resilience, with an average CET1 decline of just 1.81 percentage points over three years.
Looking at individual bank performances:
– **Piraeus Bank** reported H1 2025 net profit of €559 million (€563 million in H1 2024), with net interest income reaching €955 million for the half-year, slightly down (-1.5%) quarter-on-quarter. Net fee income rose 4% quarterly to €326 million.
– **National Bank** posted after-tax profits of €687 million, up 3% year-on-year. Net interest income totaled €1.031 billion, while net fee income grew 8% to €221 million.
– **Eurobank** recorded total net profits of €690.5 million, down 4.3% YoY due to restructuring costs and negative goodwill. However, net interest income surged 12.2% to €1.270 billion, and fee income jumped 28.9% to €364.5 million.
– **Alpha Bank**, the only systemic lender to see growth in interest income in Q2, reported H1 net profits of €517 million (up from €322.5 million in H1 2024). Its net interest income reached €794.6 million for the half-year, and fee income rose 13% quarterly and 21% annually to €229.1 million.