National Bank's attributable profit after tax increased by 26% in the first half of the year, reaching 670 million euros. Organic profit after tax at Group level amounted to EUR 646 million (+27% year-on-year), as a result of strong trends in organic income. The financial performance in H1 2024 led to an upgrade of the bank's targets in all key areas. The bank also received a dividend provision of 40% on this year's earnings. 

The bank said net interest income continued to show resilience against the expected normalisation trend. They declined by -3% quarter-on-quarter, but strengthened by +13% year-on-year to €1.2 billion in 1H 2024, absorbing the full impact of customer deposit hedging costs, higher MREL issuance, and lower Euribor rates partially absorbed by the increase in net interest income on loans as a result of strong disbursements in 2Q 2024. The net interest margin stood at 323bps in 1H 2024, well above the 2024 target of <290bps, now upgraded to over 300bps.

The +15% annual and 6% quarter-on-quarter increase in fee and commission income reflects increased transaction volumes, with double-digit growth in all individual fee and commission categories, particularly in investment product fees and lending, with the latter benefiting from the recovery in new loan production. The number of transactions increased by +10% year-on-year, as a result of a +22% year-on-year increase in digital channels.

Continued containment of operating costs in H1 2024, with Q2 2024 costs remaining unchanged on a quarterly basis. On a comparable basis, operating expenses increased by just +3.6% p.a. in H1 2024, with the cost to organic revenue ratio remaining at 30%.

Pavlos Mylonas, CEO, made the following statement:The second quarter was positive in many areas. The Greek economy showed signs of strengthening amid further improvement in business and labour market conditions, as well as a strengthening of fixed capital investment. In addition, economic activity indicators point to sustained positive momentum. Strong fiscal credibility and ongoing upgrades of our country's sovereign credit rating provide additional protection against exogenous risks".