ECONOMY

Greek shares fall, bond yields rise as ECB says no Greek waiver yet

Greek shares fall, bond yields rise as ECB says no Greek waiver yet

Greek shares fell on Thursday after European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi said the ECB had not yet taken a decision on whether to grant Greece access to cheap money.

Greece is seeking a "waiver" allowing the ECB to accept Greek government debt as collateral for central bank cash, even if it does not have an investment-grade credit rating.

However, Draghi said on Thursday that no decision had been reached on this, adding it would be discussed after it was ascertained as to whether or not Athens had adopted agreed "prior actions."

Athens' benchmark ATG equity index fell 0.8 percent to intraday lows after Draghi's remarks, while Greek bank stocks also fell 2.7 percent.

Shares in National Bank of Greece were down 3.9 percent, while Piraeus Bank fell 3.7 percent.

Yields on Greek 2-year government bonds rose after Draghi's comments and were last trading at 7.44 percent, up 28 basis points on the day. [Reuters]

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