Greek banks get greenlight to resume dividend payments after 16 years
Eurobank to pay cash dividend of 342 mln euros
National Bank to pay 332 mln euros in dividends
Alpha Bank to pay 122 mln euros, Piraeus Bank to pay 79 mln
Recasts and writes through
By Lefteris Papadimas
ATHENS, June 6 (Reuters) -Greece's four largest lenders said on Thursday the European Central Bank had approved their request to resume dividend payments after 16 years, a further sign of the sector's recovery and the country's economic rebound.
Greece, once the epicentre of a debt crisis in 2009, has found its way back to normality after three major rescue packages and strict austerity measures that included recapitalisations and nationalisations of its major banks.
The four lenders reported combined profits of about 3.5 billion euros last year supported by high interest rates and strong economic growth.
"Supervisory approval for the resumption of dividend payments is the final stamp of approval for the bank's full return to normality," Alpha Bank's CEO Vassilios Psaltis said in a statement.
Eurobank, the country's largest by market value, said it will pay a cash dividend of 342 million euros or 0.0933 euros per share.
"The amount corresponds to a 30% payout ratio of the net profit for 2023," it said in a statement.
National Bank plans to pay 332 million euros in dividends or 0.36 euro per share which also corresponds to a 30% payout ratio.
Alpha Bank gained approval to distribute 122 million euros in dividends, while Piraeus Bank plans to distribute 79 million euros.
The announcements confirmed a Reuters report on Wednesday that the ECB was expected to approve their request.
Greece, which regained an investment-grade credit rating last year, is expected to log economic growth of about 2.5% this year, approaching pre-crisis levels and far outpacing the euro zone average of 0.8%.
In recent years, the banks have cut their non-performing loan exposure (NPE) ratios to below 6% from 45% in 2016.
Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Edwina Gibbs
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