Bank of Greece

Rising interest rates seriously hurt mortgage credit, affecting both the demand and supply for mortgages. This stems from the figures of the Bank of Greece, based on which mortgage disbursements fell in the second quarter of 2023 by 10.7%, while in the same period the number of loans granted showed a greater decline of 12.4%.

About 7.2 million euros was charged in the first half of 2023 to debit and credit card holders due to the 31% increase in fraud incidents which raised the amount "embezzled" from cards to €12.5 million (an increase of 29% compared to the second half of 2022).

The governor of the Bank of Greece, Yannis Stournaras, called on the Finance Ministry leadership on Tuesday to re-examine all tax exemptions, stressing that "the country needs revenue."

Stournaras noted that the shadow economy in Greece exceeds 40 billion euro and that existing tax exemptions need to be evaluated as to whether they concern the truly vulnerable.

Greeks spend €40 billion more than they declare as income, Bank of Greece governor Yannis Stournaras told the 19th annual Tax Forum of the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce Tuesday.

The climate crisis will cost Greek goods exports one percentage point of their growth rate in the year 2023, a significant amount for a country that has been struggling for years to reduce its trade deficit, according to a National Bank of Greece study.

The number of tourists visiting Greece has hit a record high since the start of the year, despite a heatwave and fierce wildfires over the summer, according to official statistics.

From January to the end of August, 22.65 million people visited the Mediterranean country renowned for its Aegean islands and ancient sites such as the Acropolis in the capital Athens.

The Governing Council of the European Central Bank is meeting on Wednesday and Thursday at the Bank of Greece, for the first time since 2008.

Its president, Christine Lagarde (pictured), has had the opportunity to get a taste of Athens and the Greeks in a different climate than what prevailed during the difficult years of the debt crisis.

Over 45 billion euros, or €6 billion on an annual basis, is expected to be invested in the Greek housing market by 2030, according to a relevant report by the National Bank of Greece.

Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras has put the bar for next year's primary budget surplus - that is, excluding debt servicing - at 2.3% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). This is the minimum he deems necessary for the debt, as a percentage of GDP, to keep falling and for the country to return for good to the path of fiscal rectitude.

Rent or buy? Both options have become almost too expensive to contemplate, especially for aspiring homeowners in Greece who must also arrange for a bank loan.