Eurozone crisis

Greek private sector bank deposits rose in December after a fall in the previous month, central bank data showed on Wednesday.

Businesses and household deposits came in at 143.1 billion euros ($158.78 billion), up from 139.6 billion in November, Bank of Greece data showed.

Greece is preparing for a new bond issue, after its credit rating was upgraded by one of the three main rating agencies, the country's finance minister said on Monday.

Greece on Monday mandated six banks to act as joint lead managers for a 15-year bond, maturing in February 2035. It will be the first bond foray for Greece this year.

Greece on Monday announced that it had appointed banks for a new 15-year bond issue after its credit rating was upgraded by one of the three main rating agencies. 

It will be the first time Greece is tapping with a markets whose expiry date is after 2032, the year in which long-term measures for the relief of Greece's debt burden are due to expire.  

Former European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker says in an interview with Kathimerini that Greece could have been expelled from the eurozone in 2015 if he had not stepped in to smooth out tensions between Athens and other member states.

National Bank (NBG), Greece's second-largest lender, swapped government bonds worth about 3.8 billion euros ($4.22 billion) with a new 30-year government bond, the finance ministry said on Tuesday, yielding a capital gain for the bank.

The swap reduces the government's refinancing risk as bonds maturing in 5.4 years were exchanged for a new issue maturing in 2050.

The government's negotiation plan for the ongoing fifth post-bailout assessment of the Greek economy provides for investments totaling 3.4 to 4 billion euros and fiscal space for tax breaks worth 2 billion euros in 2021 and 2022, as well as scope for even more tax cuts in case of overperformance.

The government's negotiation plan for the ongoing fifth post-bailout assessment of the Greek economy provides for investments totaling 3.4 to 4 billion euros and fiscal space for tax breaks worth 2 billion euros in 2021 and 2022, as well as scope for even more tax cuts in case of overperformance.

The negotiations concerning the provision of additional guarantees by the Greek state so as to have the senior notes issued by banks in the context of the Hercules asset protection scheme considered risk-free are heading toward a positive conclusion, sources have told Kathimerini.

Greece has the fifth fastest growing property market in the European Union, according to July-September 2019 data published yesterday by Eurostat, as only four EU member-states beat the country's 9.1 percent annual price rise recorded by the Bank of Greece.

Greece's central government achieved a primary budget surplus of 4.96 billion euros ($5.52 billion) in the 12 months to December, above target, thanks to lower spending, finance ministry data showed on Wednesday.