Bank

By Yiannis Papadoyiannis

Canada’s Dominion Bond Rating Service (DBRS) announced on Friday it had upgraded Greece’s credit rating from CCC to B and the country’s outlook from negative to stable, reflecting the assessment that the risks of a Greek exit from the eurozone and a new round of debt restructuring have declined.

By Evgenia Tzortzi

The newly formed Institution for Growth in Greece (IfG) development fund is next week set to sign contracts up to the amount of 200 million euros with three of the country’s four systemic lenders to begin refinancing loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Sources say that these banks are National, Eurobank and Piraeus.

Criminals spied on people who were withdrawing their money from the banks during the bank panic in June, criminal police inspector Rosen Belishki told the Bulgarian National Radio. 

According to him the criminals were mingling in the crowds in front of the bank branches and watched closely the people withdrawing large sums. 

First Investment Bank, which suffered from the panic on Bulgaria's banking system last week, is trying to lure back its old customers with promises of interest rates.

Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) has lowered the benchmark interest rate from 0.05% to 0.03%.

Bulgaria's banking crisis eased on Monday with fewer depositors queueing to withdraw savings after leading politicians assured them that their cash was safe and the European Commission gave Sofia the green light to provide state aid to its lenders.
   

Bulgaria's First Investment Bank branches will be open during the usual business hours and have sufficient cash to meet the customers' needs, the bank's official statement says.

All the branches of the bank will open specialized counters for making deposits, opening of accounts, payment of salaries, grants, and regular payments, First Investment Bank informs on its Facebook page.

 Systemic lenders cannot ignore market concerns over likely significant additional capital requirements

By Dimitris Kontogiannis

Local banks need to make a fast return to private hands, Alpha Bank CEO Dimitrios Mantzounis stressed while addressing the lender’s general meeting on Friday. Vassilios Rapanos, the bank’s president, referred to a need for stability and the implementation of reforms.