Economy of Europe

The European Commission has asked Romania to provide details on the privatization of Oltchim chemicals factory, following suspicions of the state not behaving like a private investor, and taking over Petrom's Arpechim refinery might create advantages to this oil company, Competition Council chair Bogdan Chiritoiu told AGERPRES.

Greece’s trade deficit increased by 9.6 percent during the first half of the year due to a rise in imports and a drop in exports, the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) said on Monday.

If oil products are excluded from the calculations, the rise in the trade deficit, which reached 10.6 billion euros, soars to 25.3 percent.

Corpbank’s majority owner on Monday said he was working hard to restructure the lender jointly with the State General Reserve Fund of Oman and other interested investors.

Bulgaria's National Ombudsman Konstantin Penchev has accused the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) of inaction in the case of troubled Commercial Corporate Bank (KTB).

KTB and its subsidiary Victoria Commercial Bank have been under special supervision by BNB since June 20, 2014 and June 22, 2014, respectively, due to a massive withdrawal of deposits.

Bulgaria’s central bank said on Friday it has invited the two biggest shareholders in Corporate Commercial Bank to propose rescue options for the troubled lender by end-August.

Letters have been sent to Corpbank’s majority owner Bromak EOOD and the State General Reserve Fund (SGRF) of Oman, the Bulgarian National Bank said in a statement.

Bulgaria’s central bank said on Friday it has invited the two biggest shareholders in Corporate Commercial Bank to propose rescue options for the troubled lender by end-August.

BELGRADE – After standing still for a few days, the Serbian dinar dropped 0.1 percent against the euro on Friday, setting the official middle exchange rate at RSD 117.5600 for one euro, the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) has said in a release.

Sofia City Court released on Thursday Bulgarian Corpbank's Chief Accountant Mariya Dimova and her deputy Borislava Kyuchukova on a recognizance.

Dimova has spent the past weeks under house arrest, and Kyuchukova was the only one out of four detainees that had so far remained in custody.

Interim Finance Minister Rumen Porozhanov has voiced concern about the impact of putting Corporate Commercial Bank under special supervision on Bulgaria’s banking system.

Depositors in Corporate Commercial Bank (KTB) will rally in several Bulgarian cities this afternoon to demand immediate access to their accounts.

The protest action, organized through social networks, has been scheduled to start at 5:30pm local time in Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Burgas,Veliko Tarnovo, Sliven and Ruse.