Too many loans – too few borrowers: the IMF pointed out a new risk for Greek banks

After years of clearing banks of red loans, another imbalance has emerged in Greece: a significant portion of corporate credit risk is concentrated in a small number of large borrowerswhereas small businesses and individuals receive money much more difficult and more expensive.

This vulnerability is indicated International Monetary Fund in assessing the stability of the Greek financial system for 2026. Since the crisis, Greek banks have become much more stable, but at the same time their lending is increasingly concentrated on large corporate clients.

What does 81% actually mean?

The figure must be interpreted correctly. We are not talking about the fact that ten companies received 81% of the country’s total loan portfolio. The IMF compares the ten largest general corporate expositions four system banks with their total capital of the first level – Tier 1.

After accounting for collateral and other credit risk mitigation measures, these exposures correspond to approximately 81% of aggregate Tier 1. Before the application of such measures, the figure reaches 121.6%.

The problem is that several of the largest companies are simultaneously large clients of several banks. If one or several of these groups encounter serious financial difficulties, the loss may be distributed across several system banks at once.

At the same time, the IMF itself emphasizes that we are not yet talking about a banking crisis. Large Greek corporations have generally strong balance sheets, and stress tests show banks’ ability to withstand severe adverse scenarios. The risk lies precisely in concentrationswhich the fund recommends closely monitoring.

Small businesses are gradually being squeezed out of bank loans

The contrast becomes especially noticeable when looking at small and medium-sized enterprises. The IMF technical report notes that SME loans amounted to more than 50% of business lending to system banks at the beginning of 2019but by the third quarter of 2025 their share had fallen to approximately 36%.

The Fund directly notes that a significant part of companies – primarily micro and small enterprises – are still limited in access to new lending due to old problem debts and strict bank criteria.

“Athens News” has already discussed this problem in detail in the material “The Greek economy is not growing: why are banks strangling small businesses?”. The result is a paradox: banks have the liquidity and are able to finance multimillion-dollar corporate projects, but a small company that needs tens of thousands of euros of working capital may face refusal, the requirement of serious collateral or expensive financing.

For a private client, money is even more expensive

For an ordinary citizen, getting an unsecured bank loan is also not easy. In a detailed guide “Loans in Greece: consumer loans, bank conditions, interest and client verification” We have already noted that the real cost of such a loan significantly exceeds the rates that many are accustomed to consider normal for the eurozone.

By according to Bank of Greecein July 2026, the average rate on new consumer loans with a certain period was 10.45%. For loans without a specific term – this includes credit cards, revolving loans and overdrafts – the average rate has already reached 14.55%.

But specific banking products can be even more expensive.

For most of these products, in addition to the stated rate, it is necessary to additionally take into account the tax according to Law No. 128/1975 and other costs. Moreover, the nominal rate does not yet indicate the full cost of the loan. For example, the official calculation of Piraeus Bank for Visa Classic under certain conditions gives ΣΕΠΠΕ – full annual cost of the loan – 22.35%.

We compared in detail the tariffs of different banks, including Alpha Bank, Eurobank, National Bank of Greece and Piraeus in the material “Bank cards in Greece: debit, credit, prepaid and virtual”.

20% in euros is really a lot

Such rates are especially noticeable because we are talking about loans in euros. A Greek bank does not lend to a client in the national currency of a country with double-digit inflation and high exchange rate risk: monetary policy is determined by the European Central Bank, and inflation in Greece is not at a level that alone would explain a consumer loan costing around 20% per annum.

The high rate includes the customer’s credit risk, cost of capital, bank operating expenses, margins and unsecured lending features. But for the consumer, the result remains the same: if the card debt is not paid off in full every month, the loan can be extremely expensive.

Before choosing a product, it makes sense to compare not only the advertising of a particular bank, but also the entire set of fees and conditions. On the banking roadmap “Banks and money in Greece” All main topics are collected – from opening an account to loans, cards and transfers. Worth a look comparison of the largest Greek banks and material about bank commissions.

The IMF does not disclose the names of ten companies

Important detail: IMF does not publish the names of ten corporate groupswhich are included in the largest general expositions of banks. Therefore, attempts in the media to independently compile such a list cannot be passed off as an official list of the fund.

What follows from the document is that the Greek banking system has become much healthier since the crisis, but its business model increasingly relies on lending to large non-financial corporations. As of the end of 2025, they accounted for about 68% loans to the private sectorwhile housing loans accounted for about 21% and consumer loans only 7%.

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