ATHENS, Jan 30 (Reuters) – Piraeus Financial institution (BOPr.AT), Greece’s fourth-largest lender by market worth, mentioned on Monday that it’s going to reduce its non-performing exposures (NPEs) ratio to beneath 6% of its mortgage portfolio in 2023.
Greek banks have been working to cut back a pile of non-performing credit score, the legacy of a decade-long monetary disaster that shrank the financial system by 1 / 4. They have not distributed any dividends for a few years.
Below a marketing strategy for 2022-2025, unveiled final yr, Piraeus aimed to lower its NPEs ratio to three.0% by 2025 and probably begin paying out dividends from 2024 onwards.
Piraeus Chief Govt Officer Christos Megalou informed an analysts’ name on Monday that the choice on dividends will likely be examined on the finish of the yr.
“We will likely be assessing the scenario as we come nearer to these days. We estimate that we are going to be properly above the supervisory steerage,” he mentioned.
The financial institution targets earnings per share above 0.45 euros ($0.48) this yr, up from estimated earnings per share of 0.27 euros for 2022.
Newest Updates
View 2 extra tales
Piraeus, which is 27% owned by the nation’s HFSF financial institution rescue fund, mentioned it expects a cost-to-income ratio of beneath 42% this yr. It goals to cut back the ratio to beneath 40% by the top of 2025.
($1 = 0.9211 euros)
Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas; Modifying by Angeliki Koutantou and Sharon Singleton
: .