National Bank

By Lefteris Papadimas & George Georgiopoulos

Greek banks that are majority-owned by the country's bank rescue fund HFSF will be allowed to issue new shares to boost their capital at market prices, according to a draft bill that also gives the rescue fund legal cover to see its stakes diluted.

Business loans increased in February on a monthly basis by BGN 320M to a total of BGN 35.22B, according to Bulgaria's National Bank data.

Compared to the same month of 2013, business loans rose by BGN 333M, Expert.bg reports.

The Greek bourse’s main index endured minor losses in Monday’s session in relatively thin trading, as stocks showed a mixed picture.

 National Bank reported net profits of 809 mln euros last year

By Evgenia Tzortzi and Yiannis Papadoyiannis

Piraeus Bank's comeback to the public bond market – the first from a Greek bank in over four years – has fueled hopes that its lenders are on the road to recovery, but capital demands are looming as the next big challenge.

The rise recorded on Wednesday by the main banks and most mid-caps wasn’t enough to send the benchmark of the Greek bourse to a new 34-month high, as several non-banking blue chips headed south following two sessions of gains at the start of the week.

Banks led the benchmark to considerable gains in the Greek bourse’s first session this week, as the government’s announced intention to table the draft law for banks’ share capital increases soon, with Eurobank being the main point of interest, added to the euphoria imported from foreign markets.

Bulgaria's National Bank (BNB) eases the rules under which companies report financial data. 

As of April this year the companies will have to file three-month reports on their financial credit, only if the loans exceed BGN 500 000, or their equivalent. The change will affect around 6000 companies. 

Foreign direct investment for January 2014 increased by EUR 58.3M, compared to an increase of EUR 70.8M for January 2013, according to Bulgaria’s National Bank preliminary data.

A sixth consecutive day of decline on the Greek bourse on Monday inflicted significant losses on most stocks and the main index due to uncertainty over the results of banks’ stress tests generated by reports regarding requirements as high as 20 billion euros. Turnover remained low, as it has done for the past two weeks.