Greek credit contraction amounted to 2.4 pct in April

Credit expansion remained in negative territory last month as it contracted by 2.4 percent in April, according to data released on Friday by the Bank of Greece. In March the decline had come to 2.5 percent year-on-year.

The annual contraction of bank funding to the local private sector amounted to 542 million euros, after a drop of 674 million euros in April 2014 from the year before.

There was a contraction in funding to corporations and private clients, though there was a marginal expansion in the financing of the self-employed and farmers. Corporate funding declined by 261 million euros or 2 percent on an annual basis, while the self-employed and farmers were loaned 1 million euros more than last year.