Greece's central bank

Greece's central bank chief urged Athens and its foreign lenders on Monday to complete the country's bailout review by the end of February, saying further delays would undermine the economy's expected recovery this year.

Greece's central bank is disputing the International Monetary Fund's view that the country's banks need a 10-billion-euro capital buffer to cover any further bailout support, saying the IMF does not explain why such support would be needed.

Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras has warned that banks that fail to adequately reduce non-performing exposures (NPEs) could face penalties.

"Banks must take the initiative. If banks don't, then there is a problem," Stournaras said in an interview with the Financial Times published Monday.

Greece's central bank chief urged eurozone finance ministers on Monday to grant his country debt relief hours before they were to meet in Brussels to discuss short-term easing measures and said he expects a return to capital markets in mid-2018.

Greece's central bank became the target of a cyber attack by activist hacking group Anonymous on Tuesday which disrupted service of its web site, a Bank of Greece official said on Wednesday.

Capital controls imposed in Greece three weeks ago have made 60,000 companies to submit requests to move their headquarters to neighbouring Bulgaria, the head of a Greek employers' association has said.

The Athens stock exchange will remain shut on Monday, a financial source said, as pressure piling on Greek banks looks set to force the government to implement capital controls.

Investors have not traded Greek government bonds on the HDAT electronic platform for almost a month as the country struggles to reach a vital cash-for-reform deal with its creditors, data from Greece's central bank showed on Friday.

Eurozone finance ministers were set to hold crunch talks over Greece Thursday, after a barrage of warnings that the country risks a damaging exit from the EU if it fails to strike a deal with its creditors.

Greece's central bank head urged the country's government to keep the country in the euro on Tuesday and not waste the "huge sacrifices" its population has made in recent years.

Yannis Stournaras said an agreement between Athens and its creditors from the eurozone and International Monetary Fund to keep the country afloat was "not far away."