Athens-based Euroxx Securities this week offered a more-or-less optimistic outlook for Greece's four systemic banks in 2017, despite the significant challenges the banking sector is facing, with a forecast of 900 million euros in profits, in total, for 2017, and 1.5 billion in 2018.
Profits for Greece's four systemic banks, which have been thrice recapitalized since the economic crisis erupted in 2010 and which still operate under the shadow of capital controls, reached 400 million euros in 2016.
Nevertheless, the brokerage firm lowered its previous forecasts for profits per share for the 2017-18 period by 29 to 49 percent, adapting more guarded forecasts.
Sluggish revenues from lending and financial transactions and higher risk costs due to a stricter IFRS 9 framework approved by the SSM are cited as just some of the factors cited for the lower forecasts.
