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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-08-02
CONTENTS
[01] S&P upgrades Greece's four lenders
[01] S&P upgrades Greece's four lenders
Ratings agency Standard & Poor's upgraded on Tuesday its ratings on
four Greek banks after the government partly relaxed capital controls
it imposed last June.
S&P lifted the credit ratings Alpha Bank, Eurobank, National Bank of
Greece and Piraeus Bank to "CCC+" from "SD" (selective default), with
a stable outlook.
Last month, the Greek government announced a series of measures which
eased capital controls, including an increase in cash withdrawals and
allowing new cash deposits to be withdrawn without any restrictions.
"We view the lifting of this ban as a significant relaxation, as it could
allow for cash deposits to be brought back into the banking system,
raising confidence in the Greek banking sector," S&P said. "We expect
some minor deposit inflows in the coming months," it added.
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