SSM

Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) chief Daniele Nouy held talks with the heads of the country's four systemic banks on Monday. The discussions centered around the intensification of efforts to reduce bad-loan stocks, streamlining bank finances, financing the economy and the lenders' corporate governance.

The head of the ECB's Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), Daniele Nouy, completed a two-day visit to Athens on Tuesday, during which she met with Greece's central banker Yannis Stournaras and representatives of lenders to discuss the health of the country's banking system.

The stress tests appear to have come to a happy conclusion for Greek banks, as contacts between lenders' senior officials over the last few days and the European Central Bank and its Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) are said to have indicated that Alpha, National, Piraeus and Eurobank come through the gauntlet.

Greek banks' business plans provide for a greater reduction to non-performing exposures (NPEs) than what has been agreed with the European Central Bank's Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) in an effort to illustrate to monitors their resolve in tackling the problem in a dynamic manner.

While underscoring its independence, the European Central Bank suggested on Monday it was still flexible enough to accommodate the repeated demand by the International Monetary Fund for a fresh review of the state of the local credit sector, as it emerged Greek banks will undergo their stress tests earlier than their European Union peers are put through theirs next year.

Central banker Yannis Stournaras on Tuesday called on the managers of the country's commercial banks to buckle down and speed up procedures for tackling nonperforming loans.

The government on Thursday tabled in Parliament the eagerly awaited amendment to the law on deferred tax assets and tackling bank losses by writing off or selling nonperforming loans.

Former Eurobank chief executive officer Christos Megalou is the new head of Piraeus Bank, completing the administrative changes in the group after more than a year.

According to the country’s procurement office, Turkey’s state-controlled missile-maker Roketsan is developing a long-range ground-to-ground missile and weapons system.

The state's deal with the Greek banks for the loans issued to Public Power Corporation (PPC) and the approval of grid operator ADMIE's privatization plan is coming into the focus of the European Central Bank's Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) in Frankfurt and the Directorate General for Competition (DGComp) of the European Commission in Brussels.