Deutsche Bank and Ambrosia Capital upgraded the target prices of the four systemic banks with a "buy" recommendation. The two firms point out that the third quarter of the Greek banks was strong, with an improvement in all figures and signs of "resistance" to interest rate cuts, while the prospects remain more than good.

DEUTSCHE BANK

Deutsche Bank expects outperformance against European banks, while losses in interest income due to the ECB's new monetary policy will be offset by credit expansion. The house gives a buy recommendation, with target prices:

Alpha Bank: €2.35, from €2.30 previously
National Bank: €10.15, from €9.85 before
Piraeus: €5.4, from €5 before

AMBROSIA

In its report, Ambrosia Capital maintains its positive stance on the four systemic banks while singling out three key points from the Q3 earnings announcements:

• Loan growth in Q3 2024 for most systemic banks, along with encouraging guidance from all four, coupled with low deposit costs, to limit pressure on interest income (NII)
• Strong fundamentals lead to a normalization of average RoTE to just below 14% in 2026, even after incorporating lower ECB rates
• Total distribution yield (including repurchases) to reach 9.6%/11.5%/12.2% for 2024, 2025 and 2026, respectively, with all systemic banks looking to initiate increased distribution levels as soon as possible

The new target prices:

Alpha Bank: €2.55 from €2.15 before, with upside of 67%
Eurobank: €3.10 from €2.70 before, with a margin of 62%
National Bank: €11 from €10.10 before, with a 60% upside
Tr. Piraeus: €6.05 from €5.30 before, with a margin of 67%