European Central Bank

Greek banks made new purchases of bonds and investment assets amounting to 9.3 billion euros in 2023, financed by the excess liquidity secured through the increase in deposits, as in the absence of sufficient demand for new loans the credit sector is looking for investment opportunities with high yields.

The government plans an early repayment of up to €5 billion of bailout loans to eurozone countries this year, two government officials told Reuters on Tuesday.

The eurozone and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) lent Greece about €280 billion during the crisis on the condition that it impose tough austerity measures.

Business activity in the eurozone picked up in April thanks to "increasingly robust" growth in the services sector, a closely watched survey showed on April 23.

Experts suggest that Bulgaria's admission to the Eurozone is more realistic in January 2026, according to insights from Cinzia Alcidi of the Brussels Center for the Study of European Politics, as reported by Politico.

If Bulgaria fails to meet European Central Bank inflation targets in June, its planned accession to the eurozone in 2025 could be delayed by months, the country's central bank governor has said.

In a recent interview with BTA, Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the IMF, emphasized the importance for Bulgaria to seize the opportunity to adopt the euro, stressing that it is achievable with the right political will.

A new dawn breaks in Cypriot banking with the appointment of Christodoulos Patsalides as the Central Bank of Cyprus' new governor, heralding both promise and challenge.

Buoyed by falling inflation, the European Central Bank is expected to keep borrowing costs on hold one last time on April 11 while laying the ground for a first interest rate cut in June.

The Frankfurt-based institution has left its key rates unchanged since October 2023, following an unprecedented streak of hikes to tame red-hot inflation.

The inflation that has squeezed European shoppers fell more than expected in March to 2.4 percent, as cost spikes in the grocery aisle eased and overall price rises headed down in the two biggest economies, Germany and France.

Greece's four major banks have until the end of the month to submit their capital plans for the next three years to the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) of the European Central Bank, based on which the request for the distribution of 2023 dividends of 10-30% will be assessed.