Greece's top banks are aggressively expanding their loan portfolios, particularly to businesses, and have raised their target for new loans this year to 13 billion euros, a strategy designed to sustain profitability as the European Central Bank cuts interest rates.
The country's four systemic banks—Alpha Bank, Eurobank, National Bank of Greece, and Piraeus Bank—increased their performing loans by a combined 7.7 billion euros in the first half of 2025.
The credit growth is led by corporate lending, which is being supported by funds from the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility and a strong Greek economic outlook that is outperforming the eurozone average, according to rating agencies like S&P.
While consumer loans are also rising, mortgage lending remains subdued.
The banks are well-funded by a strong domestic deposit base, giving them ample liquidity to support the lending push, which is seen as critical for maintaining earnings in the new lower-rate environment.