During 2024, Greek banks’ lending to Greek-owned ocean-going shipping increased from $15.8 billion at the end of 2023 to around $17 billion. This is despite the fact that the strong performance of the freight market in recent years has led many shipping companies to repay their loans ahead of maturity.
Greek systemic banks earned credit upgrades from credit agencies Fitch and Moody’s on Tuesday following a recent round of upgrades of Greece’s credit rating.
Greek banks continue to increase financing to shipping companies, contrary to the European trend that shows a limitation of banks’ exposure to the sector.
The interest rate spread between new deposits and loans increased to 5.60 percentage points in April, as the weighted average interest rate on new deposits remained almost unchanged at 0.25%, while the corresponding rate on new loans increased to 5.85%, the Bank of Greece said on Tuesday.
Four issues mostly concern investors with regard to Greek banks, says Goldman Sachs in a report, while reiterating its positive attitude toward the sector’s prospects in view of the first-quarter results.
