Financial markets

In recent years, the financial sector has been undergoing significant changes due to widespread digital transformation. The introduction of Internet banking, the development of financial technologies and other innovations open up unique opportunities to improve the quality of customer service. Among them is open banking.

The outlook of the Greek real estate market remains positive, despite any new challenges arising, boosted by the performance of the economy, which recently regained investment grade, and political stability in the country.

Rising interest rates have put loan takers, from consumers to governments, in a bind, with many having taken out loans at interbank rates in the red, as they were for eight successive years in the EU.

Successive rounds of rate increases by central banks have unavoidably affected commercial loan rates.

Türkiye's Central Bank has hiked its policy rate from 17.5 percent to 25 percent, delivering on its promise of tightening.

The bank lifted the policy rate, the one-week repo rate, for a third month in a row after Hafize Gaye Erkan was appointed its governor in June.

Most economists had expected the bank to deliver a 250 bps rate hike to 20 percent.

The total deal volume in the Turkish startup ecosystem, including acquisitions, has amounted to $78.9 million in the first quarter of 2023 with 53 deals, shows a report by KPMG Türkiye and 212.

Global startup funding carried out $76 billion, which indicates a sharp decline, compared to the record-breaking first quarter of last year, the report noted.

The online platform where businesses can apply for loans with subsidized interest has opened.

On the platform, called "Know Your Customer," interested businesses can apply for loans ranging from €10,000 to €1.5 million from the Business Liquidity Fund, which was reactivated by the Hellenic Development Bank.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has announced it wants to monitor the liquidity of banks in the eurozone more frequently to reduce the future risk of a financial crisis.

Some 22 companies have launched initial public offerings (IPO) in the first half of 2023, data from the Central Securities Depository (MKK) have shown.

Those companies raised a total of 26.4 billion Turkish Liras from the IPOs in the January-June period, according to MKK.

In the whole of 2022, 40 companies went public, raising 19.3 billion liras through IPOs.

AWS has launched its brand new program AWS Global Fintech Accelerator in collaboration with NVIDIA and Vestbee that will equip fintech startups with tools, resources and a wide network of top experts, and VC funds to fast-track their AI development and business success. 

Natural gas will become cheaper by about 8 percent in July and will be sold for about 60.50 leva per megawatt hour. This was announced by the executive director of Bulgargaz, Denitsa Zlateva, during the public discussion of prices.