, Columnist
Greece's Bad-Debt Monster Is Alive and Kicking
The country's banks have staged a spectacular stock market comeback. But the optimism may be premature.
Not going away.
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Greece’s banks have staged a spectacular stock market rally this year. Shares of two of the country’s top four lenders – Piraeus Bank SA and National Bank of Greece SA – have more than doubled. The possibility of a change in government has spurred the latest bump - but investors’ optimism may be premature.
Fundamentally, little has changed since last year. Back then, investors were concerned that regulators would force banks, crippled by bad loans, to raise capital. The partial recovery in bank stocks since then isn’t a signal that the required fixes will actually be made.