Business and capital return boosted bank deposits
The corporate sector and the repatriation of capital are the main factors behind the increase in bank deposits, the interim report of the Bank of Greece claimed on Thursday.
Deposits at Greek banks increased by 2.6 billion euros from January to October to reach 121 billion, which is attributed to the return of savings from abroad and to corporate deposits. Commercial bank officials note that were it not for the unrest in the first half of the year due to the long delay in the completion of the second bailout review, the picture would have been much more positive both for deposits and the economy in general.
The strengthening of deposits combined with the return of Greek banks to the international markets for the first time since 2014 through the issue of covered bonds worth 1.75 billion euros, and the increase in transactions in the interbank market have allowed local lenders to considerably reduce their dependence on the emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) mechanism.
The report added that banks are set to meet their target for reducing nonperforming exposures this year. NPEs had dropped by 7.6 percent in the year to end-September.
