Greece

Alpha stakes claim to be least-bad Greek bank

1 Oct 2012

The Athens-based lender is close to acquiring Emporiki, Credit Agricole’s Greek unit. The terms suggest Alpha will add market share muscle and gain synergies for minimal outlay. But investors are likely to fight shy until they know how Greek banks will be recapitalised.

Exit from Greek hell isn’t free for foreign banks

25 Sep 2012

Credit Agricole, SocGen and Millennium BCP are trying to offload Greek units to domestic lenders. But to do so, they are being forced to stump up capital to insulate the buyers from future losses. It forces them to be good citizens. But is also helps their loans to get repaid.

Playing nice may suit Greece’s official lenders

23 Aug 2012

Athens wants to delay austerity. Its lenders won’t give it more money. Various schemes could shift the burden to the IMF and allow euro zone leaders to dispense with Parliamentary approval. Greece’s ace is that Europe needs time before it can take losses on its bailout loans.

Greek lesson encourages can pay, won’t pay states

20 Aug 2012

Belize is trying to force a restructuring. The Caribbean nation is more or less solvent, but its cash is precious and its debt expensive. Foreign creditors have limited leverage, as the Greek and Argentine examples show. They can lose their shirts even if countries don’t go bust.

Spanish banks next for Greek-style ECB shakedown

20 Aug 2012

Spain’s lenders may already be using their central bank’s liquidity support. The ECB has submitted Greek banks to the same treatment. The longer Madrid has to wait for its bailout cash, the more use of so-called emergency liquidity assistance could spiral.

Greece isn’t at end game quite yet

25 Jul 2012

True, Athens will need more cash because it won’t hit its targets - and Berlin won’t want to give it more money. But nobody wants Greece to leave the euro until the “Spanic” has passed. There could be ways of squaring the circle and buying time provided Athens plays ball.

Greek vote is a cause for relief but not rejoicing

18 Jun 2012

The Greeks have bought themselves a breathing space by voting for pro-bailout parties. But the resulting coalition may be weak and the economy is still shrinking. Greece must make the most of this window and the rest of the zone must brace itself. The crisis hasn’t gone away.

Investors fussing too much over Greek election

15 Jun 2012

The financial world is in suspense because the vote in the euro zone’s most difficult member might trigger a disastrous chain reaction. A more cheerful result - muddling on, or even a breakthrough - is more likely. But either way, the world economy will remain troubled for years.

Short-sighted markets needed central bank reminder

15 Jun 2012

Shares rose on a report that the world’s central bankers will fight against Greek-related panic. The news shouldn’t have surprised. But when markets are stuck in a circle of fear about future fears, it’s all too easy to ignore monetary authorities’ determination to keep order.

Hugo Dixon: Greeks face a Homeric dilemma

11 Jun 2012

Odysseus had to steer his ship between Scylla and Charybdis - and couldn’t avoid both terrible monsters. Today’s Greeks have to choose the pain of sticking with the euro or the chaos of bringing back the drachma. Staying the course is the lesser of two evils.

Greek liquidity spat shows EU bank balkanisation

30 May 2012

Credit Agricole has asked for so-called Emergency Liquidity Assistance for its Greek subsidiary. The country’s central bank won’t play ball. It’s understandable that Athens only wants to help home-grown lenders. However, it’s another crack in Europe’s fragmented financial market.

Hugo Dixon: Greece needs to go to the brink

28 May 2012

Only then will the people back a government that can pursue the tough programme needed to turn the country around. To get to that point, bailout cash for both the government and the banks probably has to be turned off.

Summit silence on Greece is best option for now

24 May 2012

Euro zone leaders can’t yet soften their demands for Greek austerity, for fear of encouraging radicals in the next election. And while insisting they want to keep the country in the euro, they must prepare for a messy exit while pretending not to - since it would spook markets.

Riposte: Greek "geuro" is recipe for disaster

23 May 2012

The idea of letting Greece keep the euro along with a new national currency is hardly new. Such dual currency regimes always distort the economy. When corruption is high, they also bring insiders profits and losses to the honest. The geuro would make a bad Greek situation worse.

"Geuro" could be least bad Greek solution

21 May 2012

Greece would run out of euros if it reneged on its bailout. But it could keep the euro as the official currency and issue IOUs that became alternative tender, or “geuros”, argues Deutsche Bank. Such dual currency regimes are unstable. But the geuro might just help Greece recover.

Greek dilemma might come to head before next poll

17 May 2012

If deposit flight accelerates, the European Central Bank will have to decide whether to authorise more funding for Greek banks or cut them off. Both options are unattractive. The ECB won’t want to take the decision on its own, and will probably push for political cover.

Greek banks’ twin crutches are rickety

16 May 2012

With deposit flight accelerating post the election fiasco, the country’s banks are kept afloat by the promise of a recapitalisation from bailout funds and further emergency liquidity assistance. But both crutches would be kicked away if Greece pulls out of its bailout programme.

Greece takes easy way out with bolshy bondholders

15 May 2012

Athens is repaying 430 mln euros of bonds that dodged its debt swap. The move may have avoided further panic. And with the government in limbo, there was no leadership to play hardball. But seemingly diverting bailout funds to speculators will inflame domestic sensitivities.

Hugo Dixon: How to protect euro from Greek exit

14 May 2012

The rest of the euro zone doesn’t seem prepared for Athens quitting the single currency, even though the chances have shot up. Here’s a four point contingency plan to prevent the euro unravelling. The tough part will be to get Germany on board.

Greece could manage to stumble out of the euro

10 May 2012

Even the Greek political parties which are opposed to the current austerity proclaim their desire to keep the single currency. And euro zone members insist they want to keep Athens in. But the country could gradually be pushed out by a chain of ineluctable events. That’s scary.