Bank

The European Central Bank (ECB) has announced it wants to monitor the liquidity of banks in the eurozone more frequently to reduce the future risk of a financial crisis.

Over 90% of bank payments were made via internet and mobile banking in 2022, highlighting the dominance of electronic networks in daily transactions, which have almost completely replaced cash transactions at the counter, but also a significant part of transactions at ATMs.

The initiatives that Minister of National Economy and Finance Kostis Hatzidakis will immediately undertake for the financial sector are moving along four main axes.

Greek banks continue to increase financing to shipping companies, contrary to the European trend that shows a limitation of banks' exposure to the sector.

According to the latest available data, Greek banks increased their portfolio by 4.6% to $13 billion, from $12.5 billion the previous year.

The combined net income of Turkish lenders increased by 44 percent from a year ago to 190.3 billion Turkish Liras ($7.3 billion) in January-May, data from the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) have shown.

The banking industry's total assets grew by 17.4 percent compared with the end of 2022 to stand at 16.84 trillion liras as of May.

Pancreta Bank will make the first significant and fundamental step toward the creation of a strong bank in Greece with the full absorption of HSBC's operations in the country on July 28.

This will be followed by the completion of the mergers with Central Macedonia Bank and with Attica Bank. 

China's Central Bank yesterday cut two benchmark interest rates, following several similar measures in recent days in a bid to counter the post-COVID growth slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.

Last week, the People's Bank of China (PBoC) lowered two other key rates and pumped billions into financial markets, as fresh data showed the economy continued to struggle.

How would you feel if your neighborhood bank operated one day as National, the next as Eurobank, the third as Alpha Bank, the fourth as Piraeus and the fifth as a cooperative lender?

The management teams of Greece's four systemic banks received a very positive welcome from the representatives of international institutional portfolios at the three-day European banking roadshow organized last week by Goldman Sachs in Paris, sources have indicated. 

Optima Bank said its 2022 profits quadrupled to reach 42.4 million euros, with all figures (deposits, loans and profits) recording a big increase in the first months of 2023, the bank's management said during a general shareholders' meeting on Thursday.