Bank of Greece

FinForum 2023, the conference to examine developments in the Greek and international banking sector, is to be held this Tuesday at the King George Hotel, Syntagma Square, Athens, with the participation of representatives from Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor's.

Speakers will include Infrastructure Minister Christos Staikouras and Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras.

The formation of a government in Greece with a comfortable majority in parliament will strengthen the country's economic stability, help the implementation of reforms and see Greece's sovereign bonds return to investment grade very soon, benefitting the national economy further, analysts told Xinhua.

The inflation rate in Greece decreased to 1.8% in June from 2.8% in May and 12.1% in June 2022, according to the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT). In their monthly report, ELSTAT attributed this decline solely to a significant drop in electricity, natural gas, and oil prices.

The new Finance Minister, Kostis Hatzidakis, and the Governor of the Bank of Greece, Yannis Stournaras, had a first meeting Tuesday to discuss policy, focusing on fiscal policy, banks and private debt.

The two officials met for about 90 minutes and then told reporters they had a "shared understanding" about the state of the economy, as well as a shred optimism about its prospects.

The major growth of foreign investments in the Greek housing market continued in the year's first quarter.

According to the data contained in the Bank of Greece's monetary policy report published on Friday, during the first three months of 2023 about 497 million euros flowed into the country, up 33% from the same quarter last year; at that time €374 million euros had been invested.

A reduction in the cost of borrowing by 1.7 percentage points has been achieved thanks to the upgrades to Greece's credit rating by rating agencies during the last four years. 

The Development Ministry on Friday announced the extension until the end of this year of both the "Household Basket" measure and the ceiling on profit margins in food and fuel, both of which were due to expire.

The Bank of Greece projects an acceleration in Greece's recovery after 2023 and a gradual decline in inflation, with the economy expected to grow by 2.2% in 2023, 3% in 2024 and 2.7% in 2025, the central bank said in its Monetary Policy Report 2022-2023, which was presented to the speaker of the Greek Parliament and the cabinet.

Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras expressed optimism on Wednesday that Greece would regain investment-grade status soon after the newly elected government presents its policy statements.

In May 2023, deposits placed by households and private non-profit institutions decreased by 324 million euros to 141.7 billion euros, compared with an increase of 1,129 million euros in the previous month, while the annual growth rate remained unchanged at 3.7% compared to the previous month, the Bank of Greece (BoG) said on Wednesday.