Fitch Ratings has assigned Hellenic Bank Public Company Limited's (HB) EUR200 million subordinated notes due June 2033 (ISIN: XS2597995112) a final long-term rating of 'B'.

The notes have been issued under HB's EUR1.5 billion euro medium-term note programme and qualify as Tier 2 regulatory capital.

The rating is in line with the expected rating published on 6 March 2023 (see 'Fitch Assigns Hellenic Bank's Upcoming Subordinated Tier 2 Notes 'B(EXP)' Rating' on www.fitchratings.com).

All other issuer and debt ratings are unaffected.

Key Rating Drivers

The notes constitute direct, unsecured and subordinated obligations of HB.

The rating of the notes is notched off twice from HB's 'bb-' Viability Rating (VR) for loss severity, to reflect their poor recovery prospects in a non-viability event given their junior ranking. No notching is applied for incremental non-performance risk because write-down of the notes will only occur once the point of non-viability is reached and there is no coupon flexibility before non-viability.

Rating Sensitivities

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to negative rating action/downgrade:

The notes' rating would be downgraded if HB's VR is downgraded.

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to positive rating action/upgrade:

The notes' rating would be upgraded if HB's VR is upgraded.

ESG Considerations

Unless otherwise disclosed in this section, the highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3'. This means ESG issues are credit-neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on the entity, either due to their nature or the way in which they are being managed by the entity. For more information on Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores, visit www.fitchratings.com/esg.

Best/Worst Case Rating Scenario

International scale credit ratings of Financial Institutions and Covered Bond issuers have a best-case rating upgrade scenario (defined as the 99th percentile of rating transitions, measured in a positive direction) of three notches over a three-year rating horizon; and a worst-case rating downgrade scenario (defined as the 99th percentile of rating transitions, measured in a negative direction) of four notches over three years. The complete span of best- and worst-case scenario credit ratings for all rating categories ranges from 'AAA' to 'D'. Best- and worst-case scenario credit ratings are based on historical performance. For more information about the methodology used to determine sector-specific best- and worst-case scenario credit ratings, visit https://www.fitchratings.com/site/re/10111579

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