Eurogroup

Eurozone central banks' profits from Greek bond holdings (SMPs and ANFAs) could be used for productive investments in Greece, a senior eurozone official said on Friday, opening the way for boosting the Public Investments Program to the tune of 1.2-1.3 billion euros per year.

Greek state bond yields fell to new all-time lows on Wednesday as prices rose further due strong buying interest for Greek securities.
The 10-year bond yield fell to 1.57 pct from 1.61 pct on Tuesday, with the five-year bond yield falling to 0.941 pct from 0.951 pct, respectively.

Greece's 3.5 percent primary surplus target is excessive and puts too much pressure on the recovery of the Greek economy, Christine Lagarde, the European Central Bank's likely next president, said Wednesday.
Lagarde, who has been nominated to succeed Mario Draghi from November 1, told the European Parliament's committee on economic affairs that targets should be "carefully reviewed."

The government is hoping to secure up to 1.2-1.3 billion euros, or 0.6-0.7 percent of gross domestic product, in additional fiscal space for 2020 that would allow it some leeway to enforce tax easing plans, despite promises last week by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to German Chancellor Angela Merkel that Greece will meet the target of 3.5 percent of GDP for the 2020 primary surplus.

The leader of the MeRA25 party Yanis Varoukafis said on Saturday that the fact that former Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem was considered by Europe's 28 finance ministers as a candidate to replace Christine Lagarde as head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was proof that the European Union's establishment has no regard for technical capabilities.

Kristalina Georgieva, the Bulgarian chief executive of the World Bank, has been picked as Europe's choice to lead the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Reuters announced on August 2. Georgieva won the support of 56% of the member states, representing 55% of the population of the EU, reports BNT.

The Bank  of Greece (BoG) is, along with the Bank of England (BoE) and the European Central Bank  (ECB), at the forefront of the battle to tackle climate change through the promotion of sustainable finance, according to the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF).

The governments of the European Union, which had given themselves time until the end of July to choose their candidate for the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), have not yet agreed on the name of Christine Lagarde's successor, the French finance ministry reported.

Kristalina Georgieva receives France's support in determining the next candidate for managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Bloomberg reported.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel offered Greece a glimmer of hope on Friday for a possible review of the terms agreed by Athens and its creditors on state debt, including a high primary surplus target.