Mario Draghi

Greece can be included in the European Central Bank's asset purchase program, known as quantitative easing, if it continues to make progress in implementing reforms, ECB President Mario Draghi said on Monday.

The European Parliament has voted Christine Lagarde's nomination as President of the European Central Bank.

Lawmakers voted 394 in favour, 206 against and with 49 abstentions in the parliament's plenary in Strasbourg.

The approval of Lagarde's nomination is uncertain, as the final decision on her appointment is taken by the European Council.

Today, MEPs will vote on the nomination of Christine Lagarde as President of the European Central Bank. 

Before the secret ballot there will be a debate in the plenary.

The European Parliament expresses its opinion on whether the candidate is suitable for the post, with the final decision being taken by the European Council.

Unimpressed by the announcements of European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, traders on the Greek bourse put fresh pressure on stock prices on Thursday, with banks ending the rising course observed over the previous couple of days, in line with most other European markets. The local market appears unhappy with the various announcements about share capital increases.

The European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs has supported, by secret ballot, Christine Lagarde's nomination to become President of the European Central Bank.

European leaders chose the current IMF chief as Mario Draghi's successor in July.

In order to take up the post in November, Lagarde also needs the approval of the entire European Parliament.

Finance Minister Christos Staikouras welcomed on Wednesday the acknowledgement by Christine Lagarde, the European Central Bank's likely next president, that Greece's primary surplus target is excessive and puts too much pressure on the recovery of the economy.

Greek state bond yields fell to new all-time lows on Wednesday as prices rose further due strong buying interest for Greek securities.
The 10-year bond yield fell to 1.57 pct from 1.61 pct on Tuesday, with the five-year bond yield falling to 0.941 pct from 0.951 pct, respectively.

Greece's 3.5 percent primary surplus target is excessive and puts too much pressure on the recovery of the Greek economy, Christine Lagarde, the European Central Bank's likely next president, said Wednesday.
Lagarde, who has been nominated to succeed Mario Draghi from November 1, told the European Parliament's committee on economic affairs that targets should be "carefully reviewed."

Even the interest rates of time deposits at Greek banks are approaching zero these days. Bank officials say that the rates will gradually decline from 0.5-0.6 percent today to 0.2-0.3 percent in the next few months.

The Bank of Greece is, with the Bank of England and the European Central Bank, at the forefront of the battle to tackle climate change through the promotion of sustainable finance, according to the London-based Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum.