SSM head on the Greek banks

Greek banks will undergo capital stress tests in order to get the green light from the European Central Bank's supervisory mechanism to distribute dividends to shareholders, the head of the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) board, Andrea Enria, told Kathimerini.

Once the lenders have successfully negotiated the SSM stress tests they can distribute dividends to their shareholders, the new SSM chief said during a visit to Athens last week.

The Italian economist went on to explain that the dividend exercise will be based mainly on the banks' own forecasts for the next three years and is expected to be a little "lighter" than the assumptions of standard stress tests conducted by supervisory authorities.

Enria further acknowledged the significant progress that Greek banks have recorded in consolidating their balance sheets and, despite the fact that rising interest...