Best bank: Piraeus Bank
It has been a great time to be a Greek banker. Rating agencies returned the sovereign to investment grade in 2023 and the country’s lenders, having reduced non-performing loans and cost of risk while rebuilding capital ratios, also delivered improved profits.
That was enough to put them back on the acceptable list for growing numbers of international and domestic equity investors, and the resulting share price rises brought valuations back in line with southern European peers, albeit still at single-digit price-to-earnings ratios and discounts to book value.
Piraeus Bank’s market capitalization doubled in 2023 and it wins our award as best bank in Greece in recognition of its decisive steps to reduce non-performing exposures. These halved in 2023 from 6.8% of loans to 3.5%, with the bank also restoring common equity tier-1 to a healthy 13.3%. That is up from 11.8% at the end of 2022.
Growing fee income helped with its organic capital build, and together all that ensured a share-price that outperformed its peers. Marking the transition to a different era for the group, Piraeus has set new profitability targets and aims for a distribution ratio of 50% from 2025 onwards, promising dividends if share-price rises slow.
Best investment bank: BofA Securities
Partly thanks to its role as global coordinator on the €1.4 billion secondary offer of shares in Piraeus Financial Holdings out of the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund, BofA Securities wins Euromoney’s award as the best investment bank in Greece. This was the largest secondary offer ever in Greece. The fact that BofA Securities also placed a big slug of the other big privatization trade out of the HFSF last year – as joint bookrunner on the €1.1 billion secondary offer of National Bank of Greece shares – underscores the bank’s build-up of its local investment banking teams and its particular strength in covering banks.
This extends beyond equity capital markets. In a remarkable transaction in June 2023, BofA Securities, as global coordinator and structuring adviser, re-opened the market for European bank additional tier-1 deals, with the first transaction since the rescue of Credit Suisse that wiped out the failing Swiss bank’s AT1 holders. This was a €220 million perpetual non-call 5.5 year for Bank of Cyprus, its first deal in two years.
BofA Securities guided the bank through calls with global fixed income investors. The deal generated €2.8 billion of demand and priced around 350 basis points inside the reset spread on its outstanding AT1.
Perhaps the highlight deal was for another, famously demanding, financial institution on a cross-border M&A deal. BofA Securities advised Macquarie, or more precisely Macquarie Green Investment Group, on the €345 million acquisition of a 50% stake in Enel Green Power Hellas.
Best digital bank: Eurobank
Eurobank expanded customer numbers and engagement through digital solutions in 2023.
It launched a market-first onboarding service for international clients, as well as the Digital Safebox –a physical service that fosters digital collaboration between branch staff and customers. It also integrated an embedded finance solution with online retailers, enabling customers to finance online purchases directly through the bank.
Investments have been made in improving customer service and security. These involve a robo-chat functionality and the introduction of advanced anti-fraud capabilities.
Digital transaction volumes reached 83.5 million, a 15.2% year-on-year increase. Digital and hybrid item sales saw a 64% increase, while the number of new clients onboarded digitally grew by 11.9% to 105,000 in 2023.
Best bank for ESG: Eurobank
Eurobank had a busy year in sustainable finance, providing € 2.1 billion to projects with positive environmental and social impact.
The lender financed Meton Energy, a joint venture between RWE Renewables and PPC Renewables, which was established to implement a 210 megawatt photovoltaic portfolio in the Western Macedonia region of Greece.
Eurobank has also financed the transition plans of several corporate clients. These efforts included ongoing funding to support HELLENiQ ENERGY in establishing a renewable energy portfolio and a sustainability-linked loan to support Thrace Greenhouses’ sustainability agenda.
Best bank for corporate responsibility: Piraeus Bank
Piraeus Bank’s has several well-structured corporate responsibility programmes.
One of these is the Women Back to Work initiative, which focused on reintegrating women into the workforce. This initiative saw 200 women receiving 74 hours of specialized training, including an introduction to generative artificial intelligence tools.
Another important programme was SKILLS 4 ALL, which provided 100 participants with 40 hours of training in various technical skills. Around 45% of participants secured employment immediately upon completion of the programme.
The bank also launched the SafeKids Alliance, a programme aimed at enhancing online safety for children. This initiative educated children, parents and educators about digital risks, provided tools and collaborated with experts to create a safer online environment. The programme positively impacted 2,500 children during the awards period.
