Banking

Greece's second largest lender by assets National Bank (NBG) was loss-making in July-to-September as weak net interest income and trading losses offset a decline in bad-debt provisions.

Corporations and self-employed professionals with credit/debit card terminals (PoS) will have to declare their professional bank account (or accounts) on the Finance Ministry's Taxisnet database.

Banks appear reluctant to proceed with new corporate bond issues scheduled by the end of the year due to the outflow of deposits they entail in what is a difficult period given that the capital controls remain in place.

Greece has the lowest savings rate among the 28 European Union member-states, as households and corporations are struggling under the burden of salary reductions, excessive taxation and various other heavy financial demands.

The slight decline of bank deposits last month, despite the strong tourism season, and the upcoming shift of all general government entities' cash to the Bank of Greece are generating serious concern among the country's commercial lenders.

32% of Bulgarians who pay a mortgage loan do not know how their interest is formed, reports Mediapool. 

However, another third of people have a clear idea and indicate that their interest is based on a market index and a mark-up. This is clear from a survey of the "My Money" financial portal, held in August among 1100 users.

Greek banks' business plans provide for a greater reduction to non-performing exposures (NPEs) than what has been agreed with the European Central Bank's Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) in an effort to illustrate to monitors their resolve in tackling the problem in a dynamic manner.

Two years after the imposition of capital controls in Greece, confidence in the credit sector remains particularly fragile and is the main factor hampering a more substantial easing of restrictions, according to a survey conducted by Alvarez & Marshal for the Bank of Greece.

Senior Greek bank officials visiting Washington in the context of the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have had contacts with major European and US lenders aimed at expanding their funding lines via the interbank market.

Representatives of SINO - CEEF capital, part of the world's largest bank, the Chinese ICBC, will be visiting Bulgaria to explore projects with investment potential. This is reported by the press center of the Ministry of Economy.