The Standard & Poor’s rating agency announced that it upgraded its rating of the four systemic banks in Greece, following the Greek government’s initiative to relax the capital controls that were introduced in the summer of 2015.
Specifically, the rating agency raised the credit rating of Alpha Bank, Eurobank, National Bank of Greece and Piraeus Bank from “SD” (selective default) to “CCC+” with a stable outlook.
Last month, the Greek government announced a series of measures which eased capital controls, including an increase in cash withdrawals and allowing new cash deposits to be withdrawn without any restrictions.
“We view the lifting of this ban as a significant relaxation, as it could allow for cash deposits to be brought back into the banking system, raising confidence in the Greek banking sector” the rating agency’s statement read, which added that “we expect some minor deposit inflows in the coming months”.
