ECB

Monetary and fiscal policies will be used in the fight against inflation, according to the statement released after the Economy Coordination Board (ECB) meeting.

The board, chaired by Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz, convened on Oct. 30.

National Bank of Greece announced a first-half profit after tax of €530 million Tuesday, slightly lower than the €546 million posted in the first half of 2022.

Core profit after tax stood at €508 million for the half, of which €288 million was in the second quarter, with return on tangible equity exceeding 16%, the bank said.

Lending in Bulgaria remains high against the backdrop of another increase in interest rates by the ECB. The goal of the central bank is to reduce inflation to 2%, but the forecasts are that it will remain high for a long period of time, commented President Christine Lagarde.

The common inflation in the Eurozone on an annual basis slowed sharply in May to 6.1% from 7% in April, preliminary data from Europe's official statistics agency Eurostat showed.

The Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) has no formal basis and has not suspended the technical work on the adoption of the euro. It is being carried out on schedule and within the bank's budget for 2023, the press center of the Bulgarian National Bank said regarding political comments that the process of joining the Eurozone should be stopped.

Economic expansion in Bulgaria is expected to slow in 2023 before picking up in 2024, according to the European Commission's "spring forecasts".

After GDP growth of 3.4% last year, the EC expects it to slow to 1.5% in 2023 before accelerating to 2.4% in 2024.

Oil prices continued to fall during trading on Thursday, hitting three-week lows on concerns that rising interest rates policies by leading central banks could limit global economic growth and fuel consumption going forward.

At the same time, the dollar has appreciated in the foreign exchange market, with its strengthening making oil more expensive for buyers in other currencies.

The exposure of Greek banks to Credit Suisse is "almost zero," Greek central bank chief Yannis Stournaras told Reuters on Monday.

"They (the Greek banks) are not exposed to Credit Suisse's Additional Tier 1," Stournaras, who also sits on the ECB's 26-member Governing Council, said, adding that Greek banks are solid. [Reuters]

No one can claim they got bored watching Thursday's bourse session at Athinon Avenue, as after the 4.55% slump on Wednesday, the fastest in nine months, buyers returned in force on Thursday morning boosted by the central bank's support for Credit Suisse.

"January 1, 2024 is a possible date from which we can start paying in euros. If by the middle of the year we receive confirmation from the ECB that we are joining the Еurozone from the beginning of next year, then we will have to start preparations.