Christos Megalos: Greek economy and capital market have turned page

The Greek economy and capital market have recovered and have now turned a page, stressed its CEO, in an interview she gave earlier on Bloomberg TV in London speaking to journalist Tom Mackenzie. Referring to Piraeus Bank, Mr. Megalos noted that 2023 was the best year in the history of the bank and in 2024 we expect it to be even better, while pointing out that the target for profitability of EUR 1 billion per year is based on a targeted business plan. Asked about the key components of Piraeus Bank’s turnaround story success, he said it was a route of the last seven years: “It is the result of a targeted strategy that addressed all key issues of the Bank. We made a number of innovative transactions, such as the first sale of the NPEs package in the Greek market, the sale of the bank’s NPEs management industry, the reduction of red loans. We increased own funds in 2021 and managed to limit about 54% of non-performing loans to just 3%.” The target for annual profitability of EUR 1 billion for the period 2024-2026 has as its basis a targeted and detailed business plan for the next three years, combining sustainable revenue production, disciplined reduction in operating costs, as well as rationalization of the cost of risk since the rate of production of new non-performing loans has decreased, stressed Mr. As far as the dividend is concerned, Piraeus Bank CEO noted that he estimates that the green light will be given for the dividend performance by regulators. “For 2023 we are in discussions with regulatory authorities and it is a constructive and honest dialogue,” he said. As he said, a 10% of net profits has been calculated. Asked about the growth rate of the Greek economy, Mr. Megalos said that “the economy is growing and will continue to grow for the next years at a higher level than the European average, creating the best prospects for the banking sector, but also for the country as a whole. There is the possibility for more foreign direct investment and credit growth 5% to 6%. The Athens Stock Exchange is growing, there is great interest from investors and we believe it could be upgraded to a mature market by emerging.” Piraeus CEO added that the strong interest of foreign investors in the country was confirmed in the Bank’s recent location and the very high quality institutional investors involved in it. Regarding foreign direct investment, Mr. Megalou pointed out that “the influx of foreign investments continues and what attracts investors, are sectors such as digital networks, renewable energy, energy storage. There is a great deal of activity in the pharmaceutical sector and in rural enterprises which is an area which the Bank plays a very important role in. We see Greece becoming a digital and energy hub in the region, while the country is able to develop higher than Europe which makes it a pole of attraction.” Finally, he added that this year for Greek tourism is expected to be better than last year. With regard to interest rate cuts by the ECB, Mr. Big said that the debate on interest rates changes every period under prevailing circumstances and estimated that the ECB would reduce interest rates first in June and expects a second reduction by the end of the year.