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Investing.com -- Moody’s Ratings has upgraded Alpha Bank S.A.’s long-term deposit ratings to Baa1 from Baa2, the rating agency announced Thursday.
The upgrade stems from an improvement in the bank’s standalone Baseline Credit Assessment (BCA) and Adjusted BCA, which rose to baa3 from ba1. Moody’s also upgraded Alpha Bank’s long-term junior senior debt MTN program ratings to (P)Baa3 from (P)Ba1 and its Additional Tier 1 notes ratings to Ba3 (hyb) from B1 (hyb).
Several ratings remained unchanged, including the bank’s Counterparty Risk Ratings at Baa1/P-2, long-term issuer ratings at Baa2, and subordinated (Tier 2) rating at Ba1. The outlook for long-term senior unsecured debt, issuer ratings and deposit ratings was revised to stable from positive.
The BCA upgrade reflects Alpha Bank’s improved solvency, with nonperforming exposures (NPE) decreasing to 3.5% of gross loans in June 2025 from 4.6% in June 2024. The bank’s NPE provisioning coverage increased to 57% from 47% during the same period.
Moody’s also noted Alpha Bank’s improving earnings profile, with normalized profit after tax increasing 5% year-on-year during the first half of 2025. The bank maintains a modest cost base with a cost-to-income ratio of approximately 38% in the first half of 2025.
The rating agency expects sustainable earnings growth despite the current declining interest rate cycle, along with a gradual increase in non-interest income from the bank’s commercial partnership with UniCredit S.p.A. in asset management and bancassurance business.
Alpha Bank’s ratings are currently constrained by those of the Government of Greece (Baa3 stable), according to Moody’s.
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