Eurobank Cyprus profits rise as lender consolidates island presence

Eurobank posted a net profit of €1.36 billion in 2025, beating its targets and outlining an ambitious 2026–2028 business plan focused on higher returns and increased shareholder distributions.

“In 2025, we surpassed all the goals set for the year, achieving remarkable organic growth in loans, deposits, and assets under management,” said Fokion Karavias.

The bank recorded earnings per share of €0.37, with 50 per cent of profits generated by non-Greek operations, while the return on tangible book value reached 16.0 per cent, one percentage point above initial expectations.

“Net profit per share reached €37 cents, half of which came from our non-Greek operations, and the RoTBV climbed to 16 per cent, a full percentage point above our initial expectations,” said Karavias.

“Additionally, we are distributing 55 per cent of profits to shareholders,” he added, referring to a 55 per cent payout ratio amounting to €717 million, including a cash dividend of €11.8 cents per share and a €288 million share buyback.

Tangible book value per share stood at €2.49 at December 31, 2025, marking a 7.8 per cent year-on-year increase.

Total capital adequacy remained strong, with the Total CAD at 20.0 per cent and CET1 at 15.6 per cent at December 31, 2025.

The non-performing exposure ratio declined to 2.6 per cent, while the NPE coverage ratio improved to 95.2 per cent at year-end.

Adjusted net profit fell by 4.9 per cent year-on-year to €1.412bn, while reported net profit reached €1.362bn, including VES costs of €27m at Hellenic Bank, a €58m negative goodwill from the CNP Cyprus Insurance acquisition and a €19m contribution towards government projects.

The adjusted net profit of the south-eastern Europe operations increased by 4.5 per cent year-on-year to €741m, contributing 52.5 per cent to group profitability.

In Cyprus, adjusted net profit rose by 1.4 per cent year-on-year to €491m, while in Bulgaria it increased by 8 per cent year-on-year to €224m.

“Our acquisitions had a notable impact we strengthened our position in Cyprus through the legal merger of our banks and insurance companies, meanwhile acquiring Eurolife is broadening our franchise in Greece,” said Karavias.

“This is fully in line with our strategy to diversify revenue streams across geographies and the three core businesses of banking, insurance and asset management,” he said.

Total assets amounted to €108.0bn at December 31, 2025, of which €62.8bn were in Greece, €28.7bn in Cyprus and €13.6bn in Bulgaria.

Loans grew organically by €5.3bn in 2025, with €3.8bn in Greece and €1.6bn in south-eastern Europe, bringing total gross loans to €56.0bn.

Of the total loan book, €37.3bn were in Greece, €8.8bn in Cyprus and €8.9bn in Bulgaria, while business loans stood at €34.3bn, mortgages at €12.9bn and consumer loans at €4.8bn.

Moreover, customer deposits increased by €4.1bn in 2025, reaching €82.7bn at December 31, 2025.

Deposits totalled €45.2bn in Greece, €23.9bn in Cyprus and €11.0bn in Bulgaria, with the loans-to-deposits ratio at 66.1 per cent and the liquidity coverage ratio at 172.2 per cent.

Managed funds rose by 30 per cent year-on-year to €9.9bn, while private banking client assets and liabilities increased by 12 per cent year-on-year to €14.5bn.

Net interest income grew by 1.7 per cent year-on-year to €2.549bn, although the net interest margin declined by 25 basis points to 2.48 per cent, reflecting lower European Central Bank rates, with the average ECB Deposit Facility Rate at 2.26 per cent in 2025 compared with 3.73 per cent in 2024.

Net fee and commission income expanded by 15.7 per cent year-on-year to €770m, mainly driven by network activities, wealth management and insurance income following the CNP Cyprus Insurance acquisition, accounting for 75 basis points of total assets.

Furthermore, core income rose by 4.6 per cent year-on-year to €3.319bn, while total operating income increased by 4.0 per cent to €3.37bn.

Operating expenses climbed by 17.4 per cent year-on-year to €1.258bn, bringing the cost-to-core income ratio to 37.9 per cent and the cost-to-total income ratio to 37.3 per cent.

Core pre-provision income declined by 1.9 per cent year-on-year to €2.061bn, while pre-provision income fell by 2.6 per cent to €2.11bn.

Loan loss provisions decreased by 3.6 per cent year-on-year to €308m, equivalent to 59 basis points of average net loans, while core operating profit before tax slipped by 1.6 per cent to €1.75bn.

“Strong financial performance allows us to undertake meaningful social impact activities,” said Karavias.

“We are expanding our demographic initiative, strengthening Greece’s top start-up incubator EGG and contributing substantially to public school renovations in Greece,” he stated, adding that similar actions are being implemented in Bulgaria and Cyprus.

Looking ahead, the bank expects a relatively stable interest rate environment and aims to lift RoTBV to around 17 per cent by 2028, supporting solid growth in tangible book value per share and a cumulative payout for 2026 to 2028 up by around 50 per cent compared with 2023 to 2025.

“We are excited about the potential of our regional franchise as reflected in our three-year plan for 2026 to 2028,” said Karavias.

“Key growth drivers include credit expansion of around 8 per cent per annum, ongoing growth in wealth management, synergies from our leading presence in Cyprus, prospects arising from euro adoption in Bulgaria and the Eurolife acquisition,” he said.

“Overall, we expect an annual average growth of 10 per cent in EPS, driving the RoTBV to 17 per cent by 2028,” he added.

The bank projects organic loan growth of around 7.5 per cent compound annually and wealth management assets under management growth of around 16 per cent compound annually over the 2026 to 2028 period.

Core operating profit is expected to reach around €1.9bn in 2026 and €2.3bn in 2028, with RoTBV at around 16.0 per cent in 2026 and 17.0 per cent in 2028.

The payout ratio is projected at around 55 per cent in 2026 and at or above 55 per cent in 2028, subject to regulatory and AGM approval, while CET1 post payout accrual is expected to remain above 14.0 per cent.

“I would like to thank our people for their commitment and teamwork, our customers for their trust and our shareholders for their support,” Karavias concluded.