Banking

Leaders of business associations have welcomed the Central Bank's move to hike its policy rate sharply by 650 basis points, calling it a step taken toward ensuring price and financial stability.

The Central Bank on June 22 increased its one-week repo auction rate from 8.5 percent to 15 percent. This has been the first rake hike since March 2021.

The management teams of Greece's four systemic banks received a very positive welcome from the representatives of international institutional portfolios at the three-day European banking roadshow organized last week by Goldman Sachs in Paris, sources have indicated. 

In Washington they paused; in Frankfurt they hiked; and in Beijing, they cut.

Central bankers in three of the world's key economic regions have unveiled divergent monetary policies this week as they each contend with their own challenges.

The European Commission is preparing to create a digital euro, it became clear from a draft law seen yesterday by DPA.

Consumers in Eurozone countries will be able to pay with the digital euro in a variety of ways, for example through their smartphones or smartwatches.

This payment method differs from paying by debit or credit card, DPA notes.

Optima Bank said its 2022 profits quadrupled to reach 42.4 million euros, with all figures (deposits, loans and profits) recording a big increase in the first months of 2023, the bank's management said during a general shareholders' meeting on Thursday.

The spread between interest rates on loans and deposits is decreasing significantly, mainly after the recent increases in interest rates on new term deposits by Greek banks, according to the Hellenic Bank Association (HBA).

The Slovenian central bank will relax its restrictions on retail lending in July to make loans more accessible to individuals whose earnings range from minimum to average pay.

The minimum level of creditworthiness, now set at 76% of the gross minimum wage, will be based on the level of essential living expenses, while taking into account certain additional factors.

The interest rate spread between new deposits and loans increased to 5.60 percentage points in April, as the weighted average interest rate on new deposits remained almost unchanged at 0.25%, while the corresponding rate on new loans increased to 5.85%, the Bank of Greece said on Tuesday.

Greece's four systemic banks recorded an increase in interest income between 50% and 75% in the first quarter of the year, benefiting from the rise in interest rates on their loan portfolios and the containment of interest rates on deposits.

Turkish banks and the country's banking industry are resilient and sound, the top economy official and regulators have said in separate statements.