Management Statement
“The global macro environment has entered a volatile era. That said, the Greek economy is well positioned to navigate the current landscape, recording GDP increase of 2.3% in 2024, significantly exceeding the Eurozone average of 0.9%, with primary surplus at 4.8% of GDP, well ahead of target. GDP growth is expected to be sustained at similar level in 2025, while the low exposure of Greek exports to the US, implies manageable impact from tariffs. Importantly, the Greek sovereign has regained its investment grade status by all the major credit rating agencies, signifying the accomplishment of another milestone for the country and the banking sector.
In this operating environment, Piraeus had a strong start to 2025, with the first quarter results confirming its good progress towards achieving or surpassing full year targets. In Q1, we delivered another solid set of financial results, generating €0.22 earnings per share and 15% RoaTBV. Piraeus achieved sustainable profitability and capital accumulation, through diversified revenue sources and cost discipline, while maintaining prudent credit risk management.
Our top line exhibited resilience supported mainly by fee generation. Net interest margin stood at 2.4%, while net fee margin reached 0.8%. Our net fee income grew mainly on the back of loan disbursements, bancassurance and asset management. Our revenue-diversifying efforts are clearly reflected in our fees over net revenue at 25%.
Our loan portfolio continued the strong momentum of 2024, increasing by 16% yoy or €1.1bn in Q1, driven by business lending, while retail lending was almost at breakeven. Effectively, we have increased our loans by €5bn in 5 quarters. Client assets under management increased to €12.5bn, already surpassing the full-year target of >€12.0bn, mainly driven by strong mutual fund performance.
Our focus on operating efficiency kept our cost-to-core income ratio at 35%. Our cost of risk dropped to the historic low level of 35bps, or 14bps excluding fees, an outcome of the successful management of NPE inflows. Our NPE ratio remained at the low level of 2.6%, and NPE coverage stood at 64%.
Our CET1 ratio has strengthened to 14.4%, up by 70 basis points compared to a year ago, absorbing the 2025 50% distribution accrual, c.€90mn DTC amortization, the Q1 €1bn loan growth and the Basel IV impact that kicked in in Jan.25. Furthermore, Piraeus Annual General Meeting of Shareholders in April, approved a cash dividend amounting to €373mn or €0.298 per share for 2024 results, which will be paid on 10 June 2025.
Lastly during Q1, we entered into a Share Purchase Agreement to acquire 90.01% stake in Ethniki Insurance, a leading insurer in Greece. The transaction is expected to further diversify the revenue sources of Piraeus, enhancing value creation for shareholders, while it will complement our product range, covering the whole spectrum of banking, protection and investment solutions.”
Christos Megalou
Chief Executive Officer