Economy
Court verdict on 2016 pension reform seen having fiscal impact
Rulings from the Council of State just published deem parts of the 2016 pension reform, known as the Katrougalos law, unconstitutional and mean the new government will have to redesign parts of the social security system and incur a reported annual fiscal of around 300 million euros.
Athens strives to bridge fiscal gap before unveiling 2020 draft budget
European Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici has given assurances ahead of his visit to Athens on Friday that the Greek government and the institutions will be able to bridge the fiscal gap for 2020 before the draft budget is submitted to Brussels on October 15.
September employment balance stays positive by 2,651
The employment balance stayed positive in September with 2,651 more hirings than firings, data from the Labour Ministry’s Ergani information system showed.
Banks highlight areas of concern in talks on NPL scheme
The Finance Ministry has redoubled its efforts to get over the line the Asset Protection Scheme (APS), codenamed Hercules, that is meant to help Greek systemic lenders reduce the stock of NPEs on their books by up to 30 billion euros through state guarantees on securitisations.
Athens looks to overcome APS snags as it awaits green light from Brussels
Finance Minister Christos Staikouras was due to meet the CEOs of Greece’s four systemic banks on Thursday as the government appears to be stepping up its efforts to secure approval for the Asset Protection Scheme (APS) aimed at reducing the giant pile of NPLs on their balance sheets.
Overall loan interest rate edges up to 4.68 pct in August
The overall weighted average interest rate on all new loans to households and non-financial corporations came to 4.68 percent in August, up 11 basis points (bps) from the rate of 4.57 noted in July, data from the Bank of Greece (BoG) showed on Wednesday.
Hotel owners sound warning over Thomas Cook revenue losses
The head of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels (HCH) on Tuesday presented data outlining the immediate impact of the collapse of Thomas Cook on the Greek hotel sector.
PMI at 53.6 points in September, employment slows
Greece’s manufacturing PMI edged down to 53.6 points in September from 54.9 points in August, according to the latest data from Markit PMI.
Retail turnover drops by 2.7 pct in July, volume falls by 3 pct
Greece’s retail sales index decreased by 2.7 percent in July, following an upward revised increase of 2.5 percent in June, Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) data showed on Monday.
Loans under credit servicing firms drop 0.7 pct QoQ to 17.45 bln
The Bank of Greece (BoG) released a new quarterly bulletin last week detailing statistics regarding the operations of Credit Servicing Firms (CSFs).