Following three years of disappointing earnings -
and plummeting stock prices - leading Greek banks hope 2003
will be a turnround year. Their hope is based on a firm
foundation absent elsewhere in Europe: strong loan growth
underpinned by a growing economy and a largely
under-leveraged household sector. Tapping that customer base
should finally boost their bottom line.
"I am optimistic that profits will recover this year," says
Apostolos Tamvakakis, deputy governor at National Bank of Greece,
the country's largest commercial bank in terms of assets. "Retail
banking will be the primary source of growth."
Other bankers are also expressing the hope that earnings will
rebound this year. "I hope we are at the end of this downward
earnings cycle," says Marinos Yiannopoulos, executive general
manager and CFO at Alpha Bank. Most of the bankers and analysts who
are optimistic about a profit recovery this year agree that retail
banking will be the main contributor to Greek banks' top-line
growth in...
