Eurobank

Eurobank reported on Thursday a drop in its first-quarter losses to 94 million euros ? against losses of 524 million euros in October-December ? and a 7.2 percent quarterly increase in profits before provisions.

Reserved trade saw turnover dip to less than 75 million euros at the Greek bourse on Thursday and although the banks index posted a marginal drop the benchmark managed to recover its morning losses to end up well in the green.

 Country?s economy contracted 0.2 percent in the first quarter of the year compared to Q4 of 2014

The market?s fatigue with Athens?s inability to conclude an agreement with the country?s creditors and the growing prospect of a referendum that government officials are pointing to resulted in fresh losses during Monday?s bourse session as investors expected nothing concrete from the Eurogroup meeting in Brussels.

The telephone call between Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker turned things around at the Greek bourse on Wednesday, with morning losses giving way to afternoon gains. The benchmark closed near the day?s high, back above the 800-point level.

The leftist Greek government on Monday continued to face a “Whac-a-Mole”-like array of political “hiccups”, with the latest emerging from newspaper report out of Thessaloniki accusing an alternate minister of exporting 80,000 euros last March.

The talks on the Greek debt between the country and its international creditors are finally making a progress after Athens replaced the head of its negotiation team.

The negotiations had been led by Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, but the change was necessitated as he was increasingly being criticised by his European partners.

By Yiannis Papadoyiannis

The heads of Greece?s four systemic banks stress the need for an agreement between the government and the country?s international creditors to end uncertainty and put the economy back on the path to growth.

Fairfax Financial Holdings, which bet on the success of a Greek turnaround last year, said on Thursday it is confident that Greece will reach a deal with its counterparts in the eurozone and remain a part of the currency bloc.