Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 13-01-31

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] 4R quake jolts Corfu

[02] The Thursday edition of Athens' dailies

[03] Hellenic Postbank to return to profitabiilty in one year

[01] 4R quake jolts Corfu

The quake was recorded at 10:04 a.m., with its epicenter 11 kilometers north of the Karousades region and a shallow epicentral depth of 5 kilometers.

[02] The Thursday edition of Athens' dailies

AVGHI: "Strikes, the response to the devastation of salaries".

DIMOKRATIA: "Measures for those that did not pay the real estate surtax".

EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: "Prosecutors of the Miserables".

ELEFTHEROTYPIA: "3 universities to shut down ".

ELEFTHEROS TYPOS: "Avalanche of resignations in armed forces".

ESTIA: "Auction year for real estate".

ETHNOS: "Nightmare from 117,000 auctions".

KATHIMERINI: "Tension scenery before the strike".

LOGOS: "Single tax on real estate".

NAFTEMPORIKI: "Payment of overdue debts under harsh conditions".

RIZOSPASTIS: "Popular vigilance against the government's authoritarianism".

TA NEA: "Communist Party (KKE) leader Aleka Papariga's come-back".

6 DAYS: "Government lights the fuse of social division".

[03] Hellenic Postbank to return to profitabiilty in one year

Haralambos Kyrkos, vice-president of the Fund, speaking to reporters, during a press conference, said that the voluntary retirement programe will last for a period of one/two weeks and stressed that the management of the bank will consider any alternatives if the response to the programe was not satisfactory. Kyrkos said that a new Hellenic Postbank will re-evaluate loans worth 1.4 billion euros –mainly mortgage loans- and its time deposit policy in view of current developments in the banking market (falling deposit interest rates and rising loan interest rates). Generally, Greek banks opted to excessively raise deposit interest rates to halt a tide of capital outflows from the system, Kyrkos said.amna

The Fund's management said the troika has demanded that the Hellenic Postbank would be put for sale in the next six months, although the Fund's president Panagiotis Thomopoulos stressed that this timetable should be considered as a strict fact as no one can discount that an investor would emerge within this time. Large Greek banks –potentially interested in buying a new Hellenic Postbank- were currently in merger procedures which did not allow them to easily proceed with the absorption of the bank. Thomopoulos said the troika could accept such serious reasons for delaying the sell process.amna

He noted that the 50 billion euros earmarked for the recapitalization of Greek banks were adequate and said that banks have managed to cut their operating costs through cuts in wages and reduced workforce.amna

The Fund's vice-president said that timetable for a bank recapitalization plan was a bit tight. "All big banks must seek capital from the market at the same time," Kyrkos said.

The Fund said its work so far contributed in saving 29.5 billion euros in deposits and 10,000 job positions in the banking sector.

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