Greece

Greece’s parliament has backed additional reforms needed to unlock €12bn from the latest, €86bn, bailout to recapitalise struggling banks and pay off overdue debts to government suppliers, the Financial Times reported. The reform bill was approved by 153 to 137 votes following a stormy debate that brought the sacking of two deputies from the governing Syriza-led coalition. They had refused to support a measure limiting protection for mortgage holders in default.

Greece and its international creditors said on Tuesday that they had reached agreement on the country’s next round of economic changes, a deal that is meant to unlock as much as 12 billion euros, or about $13 billion, in loan money, the International New York Times reported. Athens had initially hoped the money would be dispensed after the Greek Parliament passed a package of economic measures last month. But eurozone finance ministers said then that the steps did not fully meet the conditions required for the next milestone payment from the country’s €86 billion bailout package.

Hundreds of thousands of Greeks walked off their jobs on Thursday to protest austerity economics, as officials of the leftist-led government wrangled with the country’s international creditors over the terms of Greece’s third bailout. At least one Athens protest turned violent, the International New York Times reported. The 24-hour walkout shut down public services, forced the cancellation of flights and disrupted public transportation across the country. Ferries remained moored in ports, hospitals were operating with reduced staff, and museums and archaeological sites were closed.

A reluctance to pursue distressed borrowers is one reason why Piraeus is judged to be the most precarious among Greece’s four top lenders, according to the European Central Bank’s latest health check of the sector, the Financial Times reported. As Greece’s biggest bank, shoring up the finances of Piraeus, and those of its peers, will be crucial in kick-starting lending to the country’s economy, helping it to climb out of a brutal recession that has shrunk the economy by almost a quarter since 2009.

Greece and its European creditors have run into a dispute over Athens’ new €86bn bailout, forcing a delay in a €2bn aid payment and raising questions over whether the government is returning to the brinkmanship tactics that embittered relations with Brussels earlier this year, the Financial Times reported. Eurozone finance ministers were scheduled to sign off the €2bn tranche at a Monday evening meeting in Brussels, but ministers said a stand-off over repossession protections for homeowners would delay the payment for at least a week, and potentially longer.

It seems extraordinary that private investors could contemplate pouring billions of euros back into Greece so soon after its near-death experience, The Wall Street Journal reported. It is only three months since the country was on the brink of being forced out of the eurozone. The six-month standoff between Greece’s left-wing government and its international creditors plunged the economy back into recession, leading to the imposition of capital controls that continue to limit how much cash depositors can withdraw or send out of the country.

One stress test is over for Athens, but several more are looming, the International New York Times reported. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras received good news over the weekend when a stress test showed that the top Greek banks needed to raise a lowish 14.4 billion euros, or $15.9 billion, in capital. But Mr. Tsipras has to implement more tough measures before he can get the economy growing. Until then, he faces political risks, which could yet tip Greece back into crisis.

Greece’s top four lenders will need to inject up to €14.4 billion ($15.8 billion) in fresh funds to strengthen their capital base, according to the results of a health check performed by the European Central Bank released on Saturday, The Wall Street Journal reported. The amount, which was determined by an examination of lenders National Bank of Greece (NBG) SA, Piraeus Bank SA, Eurobank Ergasias SA and Alpha Bank AS., is in line with market expectations. The banks are now required to say how they plan to raise this capital by November 6.

Greek banks are racing to pre-emptively boost their capital amid hopes that they will come through stress tests in better shape than was thought, potentially sparing existing investors the pain of large losses, the Financial Times reported. Piraeus Bank, Greece’s second-largest lender by assets, moved last week to offer junior bondholders the chance to swap their credit claims for ordinary shares, a step which boosts the bank’s core Tier one capital ratio, a key measure of financial strength.

Hundreds of thousands of Greeks, who have other professions and may cultivate very little of their land, claim to be farmers in order to cash in on a variety of tax breaks and farming subsidies, the International New York Times reported. Lawyers and doctors, for instance, plant olive groves in northern Greece, though the climate is inappropriate, and then collect government compensation for damaged crops. The privileges of farmers have long been a hot-button issue in Greece. The country’s creditors have pressed past governments to rein in farmers’ benefits.