Bank of Greece

The European Central Bank won't have enough information to decide on interest-rate cuts until June, even as inflation seems to be on track to reach the 2% target this year, Bank of Greece chief Yannis Stournaras has said.

Speaking to Bloomberg, he said that the "recent set of data suggests we will reach 2% in the autumn of this year."

The estimates about a new historical record of tourism receipts and arrivals in 2023 were confirmed by the Bank of Greece.

A crucial milestone is expected in March for the East to Med Data Corridor (EMC) telecommunications submarine cable system, an ambitious project aimed at creating an "international digital highway," where Cyprus, Greece and Saudi Arabia are key components.

There are growing indications that Greek tourism, after a record year in 2023, is headed for further growth of around 10% this year.

The National Bank of Greece (NBG) presented its new logo in a press conference on Wednesday. Chairman of the Bank's board Gikas Hardouvelis pointed out that the new image of the Bank marks a new era and at the same time highlights the great change that occurred in the bank in recent years. 

The Bank of Greece, in cooperation with lenders, is establishing limits on mortgage amounts in relation to the commercial value of the property and the monthly installment to be paid by the new borrowers.

The leading position of real estate in foreign direct investment (FDI) in Greece remained and even strengthened in 2023, as the figures show, maintaining the reflection as to whether and how the country's production model will eventually be able to change.

Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, President of the Parliament Konstantinos Tasoulas and ministers toured the Bank of Greece's vault which was recently upgraded with new security systems, as guests of its governor, Yannis Stournaras. The vault stores 71 of the 151 tons of Greece's gold.

The Bank of Greece is preparing to sound the alarm on the issue of prices, presenting a study that will highlight the reasons why Greece is more expensive than its peers in a range of products, including supermarket items.

Experts are sounding the alarm as online fraud in Greece quadrupled between 2018 and 2023. According to the Cybercrime Unit, 5,261 incidents were recorded last year, up from 1,093 in 2018. The recruitment of artificial intelligence is further worrying experts as now perpetrators can create more believable messages.