Bank of Greece

Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras on Wednesday reiterated his call to the government to review the tax exemptions not only to increase tax revenues, but also to apply them with fair criteria to those who really need them.

According to data from the union of loan and credit management companies (servicers), out of the total of 86 billion euros, the arrangements that have been made to date concern €25.5 billion and of these the arrangements that are being adhered to do not exceed €19 billion.

The interest rate spread between new deposits and loans remained almost unchanged at 5.71% in October as the weighted average interest rate on new deposits increased to 0.46%, while the corresponding rate on new loans remained almost unchanged at 6.17%, the Bank of Greece said on Monday.

The famous "cushion" of 37 billion euros will very soon start to "deflate" until it is reduced to around €12-13 billion, in about three years.

The Greek central bank is set to trim its growth outlook for next year significantly in its upcoming December forecasts.

Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras told Politico that his institution now expects the Greek economy to expand 2.4% this year, and by 2.5% in each of the two subsequent years.

"We shouldn't be complacent," notes the president of the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE), Yiannis Paraschis, a few weeks before the end of of 2023, the new reference year for the sector, as records are being recorded both in arrivals as well as receipts.

The decline of the stock of National Bank of Greece did not suffice to prevent the benchmark from climbing to a new 12-week high on Monday. The daily turnover reverted to high levels at the start of the week that might bring Greece once again to climbing the steps to investment grade as Fitch Ratings will issue its verdict on Friday.

Pola Roupa, a convicted member of the Revolutionary Struggle terrorist group, was on Friday released from prison.

Reports say, Roupa, now 54, was granted conditional release on the grounds that she is the mother of an underage child.

Corporate profits are fueling inflation to a large extent in Greece and will continue to do so in the coming years, according to the fall forecasts of the European Commission, which confirm previous relevant estimates of the OECD and calculations of other independent bodies, including the Bank of Greece.

Greece on Monday announced plans to sell a 20% stake in the National Bank of Greece (NBG) after concluding the sale of a 9% stake in Alpha Bank to UniCredit as it looks to divest from the country's lenders.