Piraeus Financial Holdings S.A.

Piraeus reported first-half 2026 net profit of EUR 617 million and EPS of EUR 0.47, with second-quarter EPS at EUR 0.26. Return on average tangible book value was 16% in the first half, and tangible book value per share was EUR 6.3, up 7% year on year. Loan book grew 9% year on year to EUR 39 billion, deposits rose 9% to EUR 68 billion, services revenue increased 42% year on year to EUR 462 million, and net interest income was EUR 990 million with NIM at 2.2%. Management upgraded full-year 2026 guidance for NII to about EUR 2 billion, services revenue to about EUR 850 million, NIM to about 2.2%, and CET ratio to above 13%, while raising the 2026 cost of risk expectation to about 60 bps; the full-year EPS target remained about EUR 0.90.

Christos Megalou framed the quarter as evidence that the bank’s strategy is working, emphasizing sustainable profitable growth, diversification, and technology-led productivity gains. He said the business is being built around strong returns, higher fee income, broad-based loan growth, and a low-risk profile, and noted that Piraeus now has investment-grade recognition from all major rating agencies. His tone was confident but cautious, repeatedly saying the guidance updates reflect prudence given geopolitical uncertainty rather than company-specific weakness.

Theo Gnardellis focused on the mechanics behind the numbers: NII strength was described as fully organic, driven by volume growth on lending and bonds, with no one-offs. He pointed to about EUR 30 million of second-half social responsibility charges, about EUR 20 million of Q2 cost-of-risk impact from Katseli-law adjustments and macro scenarios, and a first-half accrual for 2026 distributions that exceeded EUR 250 million toward the EUR 650 million promise. He also said the cost-of-risk increase to 60 bps was a modest adjustment, not a change in the longer-term outlook, and noted that Ethniki’s solvency fell due to a EUR 50 million AT1 repayment but should be reissued in Q3.

Analysts pressed on why EPS guidance stayed unchanged despite stronger NII and fee outlook, and management said it was being deliberately conservative because of geopolitical and broader macro uncertainty, with more clarity expected after Q3. Questions also focused on whether Ethniki Insurance’s run-rate is sustainable, whether capital returns could come earlier than year-end, and whether the higher 2026 cost-of-risk guide changes the path toward the 2028 target; management said Ethniki’s first-half performance is a good run rate, an interim distribution is likely, and the cost-of-risk change should not be extrapolated into future years. Analysts also asked about RRF loan pipeline timing, deposit growth mix, corporate asset quality, and Snappi’s higher deposit rates; management said RRF remains supportive but not the main growth driver, a roughly 50/50 split of deposit growth was organic versus corporate activity, a corporate NPE inflow was a single-name case, and Snappi’s pricing is meant to win customers in a competitive digital market.