Eurobank

Greek banks are adopting a tougher stance toward entrepreneurs who do not service their obligations, by moving ahead with the direct sale of major enterprises' bad loans to funds.

The sales planned will not only concern large portfolio transfers but also individual loan sales, even those of small or medium-sized companies.

The second-quarter financial results of Greece's four systemic banks indicate that Eurobank, National, Piraeus and Alpha will need to increase the pace of bringing down their bad loans in the coming years to sustain profits and avoid a drop in capital. To that end they are diversifying their strategy and putting provisions on the back burner.

Greek banks Alpha and Eurobank posted weak second-quarter results on Thursday, with Alpha swinging to a loss and Eurobank barely profitable as both focus on shrinking their bad debt load.

Five suitors have tabled bids for the acquisition of Piraeus Bank Bulgaria, the relatively small subsidiary of the Greek lender in the neighboring country. They are four Bulgarian bidders, along with Greece's Eurobank.

The next couple of weeks will be decisive for the successful completion of the 20-year extension of the Athens International Airport concession contract, as consultations with the European Union's competition authorities have entered a critical stage, sources from the government and the parties involved have told Kathimerini.

Just 26 percent of banking transactions in Greece are carried out at bank branches today, against a backdrop of growing confidence in the local credit sector, which itself is experiencing increasing strength and progress, delegates at the Delphi Economic Forum's session on banking said on Thursday.

The Government issued a state guarantee of up to BGN 50 million under the Student and PhD Students Loan Act for 2018 for new loans granted during the budget year. Financial support consists of guaranteeing principal and interest on credit obligations.

The National Bank of Greece will officially launch the process for the sale of bad loans with a total value of 5.2 billion euros on February 5.

This is the first portfolio the bank is putting up for sale, following the example set by Eurobank and Alpha.

Eurobank will maintain its Balkan footprint in Bulgaria, Serbia and Cyprus after pulling out of Romania, its deputy CEO said on Tuesday, expecting the group's subsidiaries there to double their profitability over the next few years.

Italy's biggest bad-loan manager, doBank, will undertake the loans of some 400 Greek small and medium-sized enterprises which owe Greek banks a total of 2 billion euros.