Credit

Thursday’s report by Moody’s highlighting positive developments in Greece’s fiscal health and the local credit sector is being viewed by market analysts and government officials as a prelude to a credit rating upgrade.

Authorities on Tuesday arrested a Greek pop singer, identified so far only by his initials, A.R., for outstanding debts to the state.

Officials said the debts were linked to Thessaloniki’s Iraklis soccer club, of which the suspect has in the past been president and main shareholder.

The amount of the debt was not made public.

The Council of State, Greece's highest administrative court, on Monday ruled that the state and insurance funds are within their rights to seize the contents of bank accounts belonging to individuals who owe them money without notification.

Cyprus appointed lead managers on Tuesday to arrange its first post-bailout bond, underpinning its ambitions for a swift comeback to international markets just a year after teetering on the verge of bankruptcy.

The Finance Ministry said it had mandated Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs International, HSBC, UBS Investment Bank and VTB Capital to handle briefings for investors.

The European Central Bank’s pledge to keep rates at historic lows for some time has fueled demand for the higher-yielding bonds of some of the bloc’s weakest members.

Yields on 10-year Greek bonds dropped to as low as 5.48 percent, a level not seen since January 2010, while Portuguese equivalents were within a whisker of euro-era lows after dropping 14 bps to 3.24 percent.

BELGRADE - Total bank lending to corporates and households continued to decline in the first quarter of this year, which is the sixth quarter in a row, the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) has announced.

By Tasos Telloglou

New debts to the Greek state are constantly mounting while the repayment of old ones has slowed down considerably, according to a Finance Ministry document seen by Kathimerini.

By Yiannis Papadoyiannis

The effective tackling of nonperforming loans, getting credit expansion moving again and completing the return of the banking sector to private hands are the three main objectives of local lenders following the successful completion of the second stage of their recapitalization.

Greece seems to be on its way out of the recession after international agency Fitch raised its rating for the country to B from B- with a stable outlook.

Another agency, Standard&Poor's made on Friday a similar move for Spain, another Southern European country severely affected by the debt crisis. Madrid's debt rating is now BBB, up from BBB-, which was just above junk status.

By Michele Kambas

International lenders anticipate a shallower recession in Cyprus this year as private consumption continued to drive the economy, authorities said on Saturday, holding out the possibility of an earlier than envisaged return to international markets.