The latest reports from the three major credit rating agencies show a general improvement in the ratings of banks in both Cyprus and Greece, reflecting the broader upgrades of both countries’ economies by these agencies.
In addition, continued strong economic performance in both nations is expected to contribute to further upgrades of the banking sector in the future.
Based on aggregated ratings from the three major agencies—Fitch, Moody’s, and S&P—S&P’s recent upgrade has positioned the Bank of Cyprus as the most reliable bank in Cyprus and Greece.
Specifically, Moody’s affirmed the Bank of Cyprus’ long-term deposit rating at “Baa1” on December 17, 2024, with a positive outlook.
Fitch upgraded its Long-Term Issuer Default Rating to “BB+” on July 2, 2024, also with a positive outlook.
Meanwhile, S&P raised its Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating to “BBB-” on February 7, 2025, with a stable outlook.
This upgrade marks its rise to investment grade by two of the three leading rating agencies.
Moody’s had already upgraded the bank to investment grade in October 2023, following an 11-year period in non-investment grade status.
Since 2019, the Bank of Cyprus has seen eight consecutive upgrades from Moody’s. It now sits just one notch below the “upper-medium” grade, having previously spent 16 months at the “lower-medium” level.
In December 2023, Moody’s reaffirmed its rating of the bank but revised its outlook from stable to positive, reinforcing expectations that another upgrade is imminent.
While Fitch continues to classify the Bank of Cyprus as non-investment grade, it maintains a positive outlook.
The National Bank of Greece holds nearly identical ratings to the Bank of Cyprus, with the only difference being Moody’s assessment, which is one notch lower.
Ratings and outlooks from the other two major agencies remain aligned with those of the Bank of Cyprus.
Hellenic Bank follows closely, with investment-grade ratings from both Moody’s and Fitch. Notably, Fitch rated Hellenic Bank one notch higher than the Bank of Cyprus in its July 2023 report.
Moreover, in September 2024, Fitch Ratings upgraded Hellenic Bank shareholder support rating (SSR) to ‘bb’ from ‘bb-‘.
The upgrade followed the upgrade of Eurobank S.A.’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘BB+’ from ‘BB’.
The reason for the connection was that, at the time, Eurobank was Hellenic Bank’s majority shareholder with a 56 per cent stake.
Since then, Eurobank has increased its stake in the bank to to 93.47 per cent, and launched a mandatory public offer to acquire any remaining shares, aiming for full ownership.
Meanwhile, Eurobank Greece is currently rated as investment grade only by Moody’s. However, the other two agencies still classify it as non-investment grade, albeit with a positive outlook.
Given its recent acquisition of Hellenic Bank, further upgrades from the remaining agencies are anticipated.
Alpha Bank is rated one notch lower than Eurobank Greece. Meanwhile, all three major rating agencies continue to classify Piraeus Bank as non-investment grade.
