Fitch upgraded all Greek covered bonds it rates to B yesterday (Monday) after having upgraded Greece and the respective issuers from CCC to B- last week.

Alpha Bank, Athens

Covered bonds issued by Alpha Bank, Eurobank Ergasias and Piraeus Bank were upgraded from CCC+ to B as well as those issued off Programme II of National Bank of Greece, while covered bonds issued off NBG Programme I were upgraded from B-. [NBG programme upgrades corrected]

“The rating action follows the upgrade of the Greek sovereign and the respective issuers to B- from CCC, reflecting Fitch’s view on the rebalancing of the Greek economy and the banks’ recapitalisation,” said the rating agency.

The covered bonds’ ratings remain capped at the country ceiling, which was lifted from B- to B alongside Greece’s upgrade.

The outlook on all the programmes is negative, reflecting deteriorating asset performance and the adverse operating performance for Greek banks, said Fitch.

The rating agency said that in its stressed recovery analysis it has used updated refinancing spread assumptions taking into account the recent levelling off of Greek RMBS and government debt spreads.