Banking

Foreign funds may have recently appeared more favorable toward Greek bonds and the possibility of a new issue by the Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA), but the Greek government's plans for tapping the capital markets in the near future seem to be have been put on hold.

Fitch and Moody's made positive assessments of the Cypriot economy following moves by the government to deal with an upheaval in the banking sector of the Eastern Mediterranean island, statements issued on Thursday said.

The EU's committee of permanent representatives (Coreper) today endorsed an agreement between the Council, represented by the Bulgarian presidency, and the European Parliament on a draft regulation aimed at improving controls on cash entering or leaving the Union.

Investment funds are set to take over Greek enterprises that are still in operation, as banks are determined to proceed to the sale of their nonperforming loans.

National Bank, Greece's second-largest lender by assets, said on Thursday it had agreed to sell 2 billion euros of unsecured non-performing loans to CarVal Investors and Intrum.

The price of the transaction was 6 percent of the principal, the bank said in a statement.

The Greek state takes more than twice as long to pay its suppliers as the law dictates. In doing so it deprives them of precious liquidity at a time when other sources of funding - such as bank credit - are extremely limited.

Greek bank deposits rose in April for a third month in a row, central bank data showed on Tuesday.

Businesses and household deposits rose to 126.98 billion euros ($146.89 billion) from 126.02 billion in March, the Bank of Greece said.

The government is expected to raise the maximum amount that people can withdraw from their bank accounts each month from 2,300 euros to 4,000-5,000 euros, as the capital controls are eased further. This is seen happening after the country's creditors grant their approval, which is expected next month.

Turkey's Central Bank has sharply increased one of its primary lending rates as it looks to stem the embattled Turkish Lira's decline.

The outlook for the Turkish banking system is negative due to downside risks related to funding and asset quality, credit rating agency Moody's has stated.