Proportional profits after taxes of 670 million euros and organic profits after taxes at the group level of 646 million euros, announced for the first half of the year National Bankrecording an increase of 26% and 27% respectively on an annual basis.

In his statement on the occasion of the announcement of the results, the managing director of the National Bank Pavlos Mylonas said: “The second quarter developed positively in many areas.

The Greek economy showed signs of strengthening amid further improvement in conditions in the business environment and the labor market, as well as strengthening investments in fixed capital. In addition, the forward-looking indicators of economic activity show that the positive momentum is sustainable. Our country’s strong fiscal credibility and ongoing credit upgrades provide additional protection against exogenous risks. In this favorable macroeconomic environment, we once again achieved strong financial results in H1 2024.

Indeed, organic profit after tax increased by 27% year-on-year to €646m in the first half of 2024, with a return on tangible equity of 17.4%. The positive momentum in organic earnings reflects the resilience of net interest income against the decline in interest rates, as well as strong growth in fee income, as a result of the acceleration in economic activity. It also reflects the prudent management of expenses and the gradual normalization of credit risk costs, as a result of the negligible flows of Non-Performing Exposures.

These results prompted us to revise upwards the financial goals we have set for the period 2024-2026. Strong profitability further strengthened our capital buffers, which are among the highest in the domestic banking industry, resulting in CET1 and Total Capital Adequacy Ratio increasing by approximately 50 basis points (bp) and 70 bp. since the beginning of the year, and to be formed at 18.3% and 20.9% respectively.

Surplus capital provides the Bank with significant strategic flexibility, including future distribution of capital to shareholders. As a first sign of this intention, after our return to dividend distribution, paying 30% on 2023 net earnings, we take a dividend provision of 40% on this year’s earnings, aspiring to significantly increase dividend distribution in the future.

Our balance sheet comparative advantages continue to stand out. Loan disbursements saw a marked increase, reaching the highest levels in recent years of €2.8 billion in Q2 2024. In addition, net cash in H1 2024 strengthened by €1.1 billion YTD and amounted to 9.1 billion euros, providing significant support to net interest income and further strengthening the unique liquidity advantage of National Bank.

Looking to the future, we will continue to strategically focus on the technological and digital optimization of the Bank’s infrastructure, which will enable us to support the development path of the Greek economy, providing our customers with innovative financial solutions and an improved experience. With the trust and dedication of our people, who form the backbone of our organization, we will continue to deliver value to our shareholders while cultivating a mindset of excellence and a customer-centric approach.”

The transformation program supports the achievement of sustainable results

As noted, among other things, National Bank is focusing on strengthening sales, increasing cross-selling, as well as improving the quality of its services, both in corporate (new centralized customer service unit and innovative new products) and in Retail Banking (improved service model for individuals with significant prospects, new products that contribute to the creation of revenue from commissions, but also expansion of partnerships with third-party businesses to promote the Bank’s products and services).

The Bank’s ongoing efforts to upgrade digital services continue to show impressive results, which is confirmed by the increase of monthly active users to 3 million in Q2 2024 (market shares: 31% among mobile app users and 26% among users internet banking), as well as digital sales at 1.4 million units since the beginning of the year (market shares: 41% in cards, 33% in consumer loans, 45% in bancassurance programs).

National Bank continues to invest in the upgrade of its technological infrastructure (replacement of the Core Banking System, transition to an operating model without the use of physical paper and integration of GenAI capabilities), as well as in continuous improvements to the Bank’s operating model (simplification and optimization of key centralized processes).

Integrates climate and environmental issues into our business strategy (new products and services for the purchase of renewable energy and home energy upgrading), its processes and its supervisory reporting. (measuring funded and unfunded greenhouse gas emissions and assessing progress towards achieving its zero environmental footprint goals.