Piraeus expects a 10% increase in loans in 2024, Piraeus CEO Christos Megalos said at the Morgan Stanley and Athens Stock Exchange Greek Investment Conference.

In particular, key points of his speech concerned credit expansion and the Bank’s net interest margin, the Bank’s investment perspective and the relationship with customers and new trends in banking.

For credit expansion and the Bank’s net interest margin

Piraeus’ strategic priority is to increase financing in the Greek economy, promoting sustainable development and diversifying sources of income for the Bank.

Piraeus is waiting increase loans by 10% in 2024due to strong demand for business loans, €2.1 billion. net interest income (NII) and net interest margin (NIM) of 2.7%, among the highest in the EU, having succeeded in preserving loan margins and deposit costs.

Keeping the NIM is important with a rate cut cycle and consensus for 2% or even lower ECB interest rate until the end of 2025.

For 2025 the aim is to continue to grow our loan portfolio, leveraging strong demand from businesses, as well as capital from the RRF while working hard to reheat the retail business.

Piraeus’ expectation is that the pressure on NIM will be limited as it will be offset, among other things, by the creation of opportunities in SMEs and retail.

Steady new loan volumes, growing income from fixed income portfolios and well-timed hedging strategies can mitigate much of the impact of a rate cut.

More generally, NIM is expected to normalize from the current high levels with a sustainable level around 2.3%-2.4%.

For the Bank’s investment perspective

Piraeus has implemented a large-scale transformation, focusing on digitization and improving efficiency and productivity.

The strategic plan for the next 3 years seeks to leverage the transformation to promote sustainable growth and confirm the Bank’s position in the industry.

We aim in net credit expansion of €10 billion. over the next 4 years and strengthening net fee income to 0.9% of assets through organic growth and strategic initiatives.

Piraeus is well positioned to leverage its strong fundamentals, digital progress and strategic growth initiatives to continue to deliver value.

The strong macroeconomic outlook and sustainable profitability dynamics of the Bank, combined with the convergence of the dividend policy to the European average, with the next milestone for Piraeus being the payment of 50% of the 2025 profits, will strengthen its investment proposition Piraeus.

In terms of the bank’s market value, its figures justify trading closer to the average of European banks once the book value.

In line with our strategy, we are evaluating strategic opportunities to drive growth and execute our business plan by diversifying our revenue streams.

For the relationship with customers and new trends in banking

At Piraeus, the customer is at the center of our activity and improving their experience, as well as expanding the clientele by offering new services, is a priority.

We seek a real understanding of the needs that customers have as they evolve with new generations and the macro environment. This is not just about creating or promoting products or services but about shaping the customer experience, physical or digital.

We have adopted a client-first strategy, developing sophisticated models beyond traditional metrics related to revenue or assets under management. Instead, we focus on behaviors and unique needs to provide customized solutions.

To respond, we created a new store model to combine the expertise of our people with innovative digital solutions. By leveraging artificial intelligence, we’ve unlocked personalization at scale, streamlining all of our channels and ensuring a high-level customer experience across them.
At Piraeus, we start with the customer, not the products, while embedding a strong ESG agenda into our DNA. Because for us, value does not only come from financial returns but is linked to the contribution to the well-being of customers and the economy.

In this context, Piraeus supports, among other things, sustainable agriculture, financing the modernization and installation of greenhouses, through a new specialized product. Our ambition is to double the area of ​​greenhouses in Greece, from 48 thousand acres today.

Another example: recognizing the needs of our customers for residential renovations and in accordance with the goals set by the National Energy and Climate Plan, Piraeus has entered into a strategic partnership with CFP Green Buildings to create and provide a specialized service for building renovations, with the initial target of 150 thousand existing customer properties and production of new loans of 200 million. euros for the reconstruction of houses in Greece in the next 2-3 years.