Central bank

The process of raising interest rates in Bulgaria will accelerate in the coming months, the BNB predicts in the traditional publication "Banks in Bulgaria". The Central Bank warns that there are prerequisites for the accumulation of risk in the balance sheet of the banking system.

"1.8% - this is the optimistic option for the growth of the economy. The Bulgarian National Bank, for example, predicts 0.4% growth. This is a positive realistic option. There are also options with a recession, which are even more frightening.

Members of the Central Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will meet this week to decide on the key interest rates, as the decision is due on April 27.

Last month, the bank kept the policy rate (one-week repo auction rate) unchanged at 8.5 percent.

Greece's four systemic banks showed high profitability of 3.7 billion euros last year, against losses of €4.7 billion in 2021, while also recording one of the highest net interest margins among European banks.

BELGRADE - National Bank of Serbia (NBS) gross FX reserves reached 21.38 bln euros at end-March, their highest end-of-month level on record since monitoring began in 2000, the central bank said on Tuesday.

The FX reserves increased by 184.4 mln euros compared to the previous month.

The World Bank's ongoing reform could result in a $50 billion lending boost over the next decade, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has told AFP ahead of stakeholders' meetings this week where key changes are expected to be announced.

Central banks around the world should keep battling inflation by hiking interest rates despite ongoing concerns about financial stability, the head of the International Monetary Fund has told AFP.

Since last year, central banks have been raising their benchmark lending rates to tackle inflation, which rose to levels not seen for decades in many countries including the United States.

India's Central Bank held interest rates yesterday for the first time in nearly a year because of "unprecedented uncertainty" in global markets but said it was committed to taming persistent inflation.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) left the benchmark repurchase rate at 6.50 percent after hikes at all six of its prior meetings since May 2022.

Philip R. Lane, member of the Executive Board and chief economist at the European Central Bank (ECB), said he is pleased to witness the significant progress of the Cypriot economy.

He was speaking after meetings on Wednesday at the start of his visit to Cyprus that concluded on Thursday, following an invitation from the governor of the Central Bank of Cyprus, Constantinos Herodotou.

The eurozone is near the end of the tighter monetary policy cycle, Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras said on Wednesday.

Addressing a conference organized by the Federation of Insurance Companies of Greece, the central banker said Greece was also close to obtaining investment grade.