Subject: Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 17-02-06
From: "HR-Net News Distribution Manager" <dist@hri.org>
CONTENTS
[01] Greek public debt highly unsustainable, IMF report
[02] PM Tsipras: Uncertainty will end
[03] Greek banking system supports growth initiatives
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[01] Greek public debt highly unsustainable, IMF report

Greek public debt is highly unsustainable, the International Monetary
Fund said in a report to be discussed during a board council meeting
in Washington later today.

The report, exclusively presented by ANA, said that the Greek economy
faced four challenges.

The country's public debt was highly unsustainable the IMF said and
recommended a series of measures towards this direction. The Fund
recommends that Greece should adopt a "fiscal neutral policy" and noted
that its economy did not need any further adjustment. However, it noted
that "fiscal reforms" were needed such as reducing a tax exempt sum in
order to expand the tax base and deal with the tax evasion problem.

The IMF said that the country's financial sector should drastically reduce
its non-performing loans, to strengthen corporate governance rules and
to abolish remaining limitation in capital movement (capital controls)
the soonest possible


[02] PM Tsipras: Uncertainty will end

"The uncertainty will end" said Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to
journalists while leaving SYRIZA headquarters on Monday.

Earlier, Tsipras had a meeting with his associates.


[03] Greek banking system supports growth initiatives

Greek banks have the necessary liquidity to support development
initiatives in the country, coming from healthy and viable enterprises
and supported with a variety of products (for large enterprises),
Hellenic Bank Association said in a survey on the operation of the
Greek banking system.

The survey said that in the last two months of 2016, net loan flows to
enterprises grew slightly for the first time in the last five years, after
a negative 3.8 pct monthly net loan float rate recorded in the period
from January 2011 to October 2016. This trend has now been reversed.

Greek banks' efforts to contribute in the development of the economy
are promoted both through their autonomous action and through a series
of partnerships and synergies with a variety of agencies and services.

Greek banks offer, among others, offer moving capital, fixed capital,
factoring and leasing services, guarantee offer, special support to export
enterprises, credit, letters of guarantee, farm contract loans, commercial
property loans and co-funded loans for manufacturing, commerce, services
and tourism. They also fund, alone or in joint ventures with other banks,
large infrastructure projects, such as road networks, large private and
public projects, shipping, tourism, hotels and tourism infrastructure,
energy, health, telecommunications, construction and new technologies.

Bank has also offered small- and medium-sized enterprises their know-how
and expertise offering funding and every available support to their
projects.

Banks also fund joint projects between public and private sector
companies, supporting the Greek state, public-owned enterprises and
municipal authorities.

Greek banks has also established a long-time cooperation with ETEAN -a
Greek investment fund- and the European Investment Fund (EIF), promoting
funding and guarantee products and tools such as: Entrepreneurship Fund
Restart (TEPIX), Island Entrepreneurship, Jeremie, COSME, Horizon 2020.

Greek banks also cooperated with the European Investment Bank and have
signed the first contracts worth 400 million euro in the framework of
a credit line by EIB "Loans for SMEs" worth 1.0 billion euros.

Greek banks also secured 330 million euros to fund strategic investments
of high economic and social added value projects included in the framework
of an Investment Fund for Europe, known as Juncker Plan.