ALPHA BANK: The continued momentum in net feeand commissionincome was the standout feature of the Alpha Group’s first-quarter results.
Revenuesin this categoryreached €140 million, compared to market estimates of €126 million, with mutual funds maintaining the highest contribution (€38 million). This was followed by commission income from new loans (€26 million) and income from banking transactions (€20 million).
The CET 1 ratio fellto 14.7% from 15% at the end of 2025, partly due to non-recurring factors. On the one hand, there was a one-off expense of €47 million for the voluntary redundancy program (note: applications from 351 employees were accepted), and on the other hand,a synthetic securitization expired, resulting in an increase in risk-weighted assets that “eroded” capital.
A new synthetic securitization in the current second quarter will normalize the picture.
ALPHA BANK II: The group’s net interest income amounted to €416.3 million in the first quarter, up on both an annual and quarterly basis, due to the contribution ofAstrobankandFlexFin, which were acquired in the second half of last year, and higher bond yields.
As of March 31, there were no mortgage loans inSwiss francs whose borrowers had taken advantage of the government’s scheme to convert them to euros with a “haircut” on the principal.
Of course, Alpha maintains a very small exposure to Swiss franc loans and has set aside a total provision ofjust 11 million euros.
On the other hand, acceptance by borrowers—primarily of mortgage loans—of Alpha’s proposals to convert them toamortizing installments with reduced payments is proceeding at a satisfactory pace (i.e., over 80%).
Part of the new contracts (€219 million), because they result in a net present value loss exceeding 1%,were classified as NPEs,even though they are being serviced normally by borrowers.
As is well known, theSSMhas requested, across Europe, that banks attempt by the end of 2026 to return all (mortgage) loans currently in a low-payment program—which gradually increases (step-up)—to principal-and-interest payments.
PAPALEKAS:Papalekas Holdings and Real Estaterecorded a profit of at least €16.5 million from the sale to Alpha of the building at 38 Stadiou Street, through the transfer of the “single-purpose” companyVYSTAD.
VYSTAD was established just at the end of last December by Papalekas Holdings and Real Estate, with the contribution of the property at 38 Stadiou Street, which was valuedat €36.5 million.
This was followed in February by a capital increase of €16.96 million, which was presumably paid by the Papalex side. On March 4, the company was sold to Alphafor €70 million.
KARISTIAOU: With the unveiling of Maria Karistianou’s new party this afternoon in Thessaloniki, the cycle of presentations for new political formations begins.
In a post on her personal X account, she issued an open invitation to the event so that, as she emphasized,“we can all come together and send the strongest possible message of real hope for a new beginning.”
Ms. Karistianou also referred to the efforts of some to stop her campaign.“We know that there will be planted and ill-intentioned people standing beside us with the aim of tarnishing the movement’s pure and unifying image. But they will not succeed,”she noted.
And the political deck is beginning to be shuffled…
P.S. One person who is already convinced by the new venture is actor Nikos Ziagos. As he stated (on ANT1),“he almost detests”politics, but decided to join forces with Maria Karistianou because“this woman is the modern-day… Bouboulina; she took up a sword and took on the entire system, and I said, whenever she forms a party, I’ll go with her.”
To arms!
ELECTIONS: The other parties, both old and new, are also“ready for battle,” as they see the polls looming menacingly.
The exact date of the elections, of course, will be set by Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who insists on spring 2027, but he, too, is moving at full campaign speed.
Today, for example, he will tour Laconia, and this afternoon he will attend and speak at the ceremony marking the public opening of the projects to protect and showcase the historic Castle City of Mystras, as well as the new museum exhibitions at the Palace of the Despots.
Beyond his domestic obligations, the Prime Minister is also planning important trips abroad. One of these is to Ankara, where, amid rapid developments in the Middle East and Turkish provocations, the NATO Summit will take place on July 7 and 8.
AVRAMOPOULOS: And since we’re on the subject of Ankara, yesterday’s remarks by the former Commissioner at the conference organized by the Circle of Ideas in collaboration with the Delphi Economic Forum caused quite a stir.
“We must stop reacting with fear to every move Turkey makes. They are doing their job, and we are doing ours,”the former minister stated emphatically, noting that Greece is not threatened by its neighbors’ planned legislation regarding the “Blue Homeland.” “Whatever is happening in Turkey is primarily for domestic reasons, ” Dimitris Avramopoulos argued.
At the same time, he declared himself a staunch advocate of maintaining open channels of communication, warning that if dialogue ceases, the armies of the two countries will take over.
DENDIA: The Defense Minister’s remarks on Greek-Turkish relations, delivered at the same conference, were discussed even more extensively.
Nikos Dendias, continuing to subtly diverge from the party line on a range of issues, clearly distanced himself from the narrative of“calm waters”in relations between Athens and Ankara.
“I am not among those who believe in the ‘calm waters’ narrative,”he specifically stated, adding that Greece“has not the slightest claim against Turkey.”
He clarified, however, that if a new operational crisis arises in the Aegean, the country will defend its borders and its rights.
Regarding the issue of the Patriot missiles that were moved from Karpathos, he argued that“they did not go to the island to counter the Turkish threat. The reason for their relocation had to do with the missile threat from Iran. We didn’t ask NATO to deploy them there, nor did we ask to remove them from there.”
The Corfu native also had a stern message for Kyiv regarding the Ukrainian drone found on Lefkada:“Obviously, it was something extremely dangerous. The Ukrainian side owes us a very big apology. And in addition to the apology, they owe us an absolute assurance that something like this will never happen again in the wider region.”
INGLESIS: Yiannis Inglesis’s Greek company, JHI Steamship, is further strengthening its presence in the tanker shipping sector by placing a new order for an Aframax tanker in Japan.
According to TradeWinds, Imabari Shipbuilding will construct a 115,000 dwt crude oil tanker equipped with scrubbers for the company , with delivery scheduled for 2028.
This is JHI’s third order in 2026, following previous agreements with South Korean shipyards for one VLCC and two Suezmax tankers. In total, the company has placed six tanker orders since its establishment in 2025.
The company’s managing director, Nikos Vassiliou, stated that the new investment is part of the strategic plan to expand the fleet with modern and efficient vessels that will meet the market’s future technological and environmental requirements.
JHI Steamship was established following the separation of the family interests of Samos Steamship and currently operates a fleet of five bulk carriers and four tankers.
EUROPE HOLDINGS: The stock rose again yesterday, closing at €2.16 (+2.85%), with trading volume reaching 151,000 shares.
Over the last seven trading sessions, the stock has seen six gains, with total gains approaching 15%. This column has heard that discussions are underway with CrediaBank, though it remains to be seen where they will lead.
In fact, some reports suggest that announcements could be forthcoming soon.
DIMAND: The social housing sector is beginning to... lose steam in the domestic real estate market. With inflation and rents putting increasing pressure on households, developers and investors are seeking more “down-to-earth” housing solutions, recognizing that there is now genuine demand for low-budget projects.
Dimand appears to be at the forefront. The publicly traded company had already signaled its intentions to the market with plans to develop a low-rent complex on Petrou Ralli Street, a project with hundreds of units aimed primarily at working professionals and young renters.
As this column has learned, it doesn’t stop there. Reports indicate that the company is “pursuing” two more similar projects. The first is located in the Faliro area, near the Olympiacos stadium, while Keratsini is being considered for the second.
The details have not yet been finalized, as negotiations are ongoing. However, barring any last-minute changes, the relevant announcements are expected in June.
MARKETS: A major bet shook up the oil market yesterday. A player “bet” via put options (rights to sell an asset in the future) that the price of oil would drop by nearly… 20% from current levels (!) in July delivery contracts, which, however, expire in a few days.
Specifically, according to Bloomberg, a massive put spread on Brent was traded in the options market, corresponding to… 134 million barrels of oil.
The “bet” is set between $91 and $90. This means that if the price of Brent falls by about 19% by the expiration of these options on May 26, the buyer could make up to $129 million.
In fact, this was not the only such move. Later, during the same trading session, other large put spreads were executed, both on the ICE and on a similar contract on the CME Group, with volumes in the tens of millions of barrels.
This suggests that it was likely not a simple, isolated “oddity” on the part of some big-time speculator.
The question is what exactly those who took such positions “see.”
MARKETS II: One possible explanation is that these are hedging moves for other transactions, such as binary and digital options, or bets on geopolitical events, placed on U.S. prediction markets like Polymarket.
They may also be betting… boldly on a U.S. agreement with Iran, or even on the opening of the Strait of Hormuz. In this case, the time frame is very tight. Just five days from today!
This raises suspicions of“front running”—that is, that someone may have inside information about developments with Iran and is exploiting it.
The truth is that all this time, market nerves have been stretched to the breaking point.
Prices are fluctuating with every news report from the Persian Gulf, while any sense of “innocence” has vanished followingthe suspicious large-scale trades that took place shortly before Trump’s statements and posts, or just before “exclusive” reports on the White House’s actions appeared, yielding massive profits.
This phenomenon has occurred several times in recent months. And following intense backlash, it is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice.
So, when bets of this magnitude “pop up” on the market, no one ignores them.
P.S.: By coincidence, we assume, the news focused this evening on reports in the Saudi media that“a U.S. agreement with Iran is imminent,”with Pakistan’s very active mediation. It’s not the first time, of course, but everyone hopes that this time the efforts might have a better outcome.