The Morningstar DBRS agency states that it will continue to monitor the developments regarding the acquisition of Hellenic Bank by Eurobank, considering the impact of the acquisition to be generally neutral on the bank's key credit metrics with a manageable impact on capital.

In a bulletin issued yesterday, the agency assigned a credit rating to Eurobank for the first time, setting the long-term issuer rating at BBB(low).

Regarding the progress of the acquisition of Hellenic Bank, DBRS notes that it will continue to monitor the developments around Eurobank's public offer to acquire the remaining share capital of Hellenic. Eurobank has already acquired 55% of Hellenic.

"Based on preliminary estimates, Morningstar DBRS understands that in the short term, the impact of the acquisition will be generally neutral on most of the group's credit fundamentals with a manageable negative impact on capitalization," the agency notes.

However, it adds, if the acquisition is successful, it will further strengthen the group's presence in one of its key foreign markets and also lead to more positive impacts in the medium term, due to synergies from the combination of the two entities.

Nevertheless, DBRS concludes, "the execution risks of the transaction must be considered due to the size of Hellenic Bank, which corresponds to approximately 25% of the group's total assets."