KATHIMERINI


Tug of war over HFSF “cushion”

Bank of Greece governor doesn’t rule out need for added capital for some banks

The capital of the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund is proving to be a source of discord. On the one hand the government would like to use whatever funds remain following the completion of the stress tests to cover a portion of its funding gap so as to avoid the need for further financial assistance, while on the other the troika (primarily the ECB) is insisting that the funds be kept as a safety cushion for the banking system.

It is indicative that the Governor of the Bank of Greece, George Provopoulos, during a special meeting of the Parliament’s Committee for Financial Affairs, when asked over the potential of using the HFSF funds to cover the government’s funding gap, declined to answer. Mr Provopoulos did not rule out the scenario of some banks requiring added capital following the completion of the stress tests. As such he stressed that there was no need for concern given that the HFSF had enough funds to meet whatever needs may arise.

TA NEA


A return to Munich station

In 2012 over 20,000 Greeks repeated the journey of the 1960s ‘gastarbeiter’ [guest workers in Germany]

Between 2011 and 2012 the number of Greeks emigrating to Germany doubled, surpassing 20,000, in search of work and following the footsteps of the ‘gastarbeiter’ of the 1950s and the 1960s. Indeed they made up over 3% of the new immigrants into Germany which has maintained a booming labour market.

ELEFTHEROTYPIA


Outstanding loans are a Trojan Horse

Foreign capital ‘invades’ the economy through banks

The reordering of the domestic financial system is entering its final phase which will occur in parallel with a fundamental restructuring of the most important Greek business sectors. The confirmed foreign interest in Greek banks, combined with the fact that lenders have examined all of the loans, many of which are high risk or are unsecured by guarantees, lead unavoidably to a clearing of loan portfolios. It is indicative that Blackrock has conducted two in-depth audits. As such, through the funding of healthy businesses and the bolstering of shaky ones, if they accept ‘foreign capital,’ lenders will attain direct access to the country’s productive power.

ETHNOS


A €1.2 mln euro mortgage for a union member!

A new report into the dealings of the Filippidi-led Hellenic Postbank has been submitted to the courts. A mammoth mortgage was given to a union member who was on the board of the bank.

AVGI


Hellenic Postbank loans: Who received them and how much

In three and a half years 35 loans worth a total of 1.373 billion euros

The Bank of Greece’s reports reveal the extent of the free-for-all of crony loans that was established in the Hellenic Postbank by the ‘Blue-Green’ [ie PASOK – New Democracy] administrations of the bank between 2008 and 2012. The reports provided the basis for the prosecutors’ latest indictments. Aside from the well-known Lavrentiadis, Contominas and Griveas cases which caused 374 mln euros in losses to the state, there are a number of loans to well-known business figures which were either issued without guarantees, or where the level of risk assumed by the  savings bank was ‘unacceptable,’ as in the case of the MIG Group controlled by Andreas Vgenopoulos.

Of particular interest is also the list of ‘grants’ given by Hellenic Postbank to media outlets, businesses and even ‘cultural events’. The latter recipients – clearly in accordance with Evangelos Giannopoulos’s [Justice Minister 1996-2000] definition of them as ‘cultural centers’ – included nightclubs.