National Bank of Greece

Qatar National Bank and Bahrain?s Arab Bank Corp did not follow up early interest in acquiring HSBC?s Turkish business because they are more interested in National Bank of Greece?s Turkish arm Finansbank, two people familiar with the matter said.

Standard & Poor’s rating agency cut Greece’s credit grade by one notch further into junk status amid the country’s deteriorating financial situation. The agency says it now sees a 50-percent chance of Greece leaving the eurozone.

Greek-owned banks in the Balkans region were open on Monday, paying out cash and issuing loans -- in contrast to Greece, where a bank holiday and capital controls went into force, Reuters reported.

The Turkish banking sector?s eyes are on Finansbank, 99.8 percent of which is owned by the National Bank of Greece (NBG), after the dramatic deterioration in the Greek economy, while a high level representative in Finansbank said any concerns about the bank?s deposit are baseless. 

By Christos Ziotis, Jenny Paris & Theophilos Argitis

Some Greek banks were beginning to limit cash transactions as hundreds of people lined up outside branches and drained cash machines after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called a referendum that could decide his country?s fate in the euro.

By Yalman Onaran

Greek banks, which received two capital infusions in the past two years, may need a third one as a recession drives up losses from bad loans.

By Lorcan Roche Kelly & Marcus Bensasson

While the government has shown resourcefulness to last as long as it has without defaulting, Tsipras's actions have taken a visible toll on Greece's economy, banking system and markets. An immediate gauge of the cost comes in plunging market capitalization of the Athens Stock Exchange.

By Marco Bertacche & Christos Ziotis

Greek banks, forced into a central bank liquidity lifeline, are poised to report sustained losses as they grapple with record deposit outflows and an economy that plunged into double-dip recession.

By Eleni Chrepa and Nikos Chrysoloras

Forthnet SA, Greece?s largest pay-TV provider, is speeding up talks with creditors on refinancing, its chief executive officer said.

Turkey?s Finansbank, owned by National Bank of Greece, said on Wednesday that its net profit in the first quarter more than doubled to 283 million lira ($106.83 million).

The bank?s net profit in the same period of 2014 was at 129 million liras, it said in a stock exchange filing.

[Reuters]