Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 14-10-21

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

CONTENTS

[01] National Bank's priority is to support the real economy, CEO says

[02] Greek fiscal deficit at 12.2 pct of GDP in 2013

[01] National Bank's priority is to support the real economy, CEO says

Addressing a conference on "Internal control on the epicentre of developments", the Greek banker said that the majority of loans offered by National Bank were for investments as they lead to new job creation. National Bank has a strong cashflow, Tourkolias said while commenting on the forthcoming announcement of stress tests results, he noted that "under the existing data we can sleep quietly".

National Bank's CEO focused on the need to adopt a new business model, in the framework of creating a new growth model for the country, which will be based on export activity, supporting new technologies and human resources, instead of the extreme domestic consumption which prevailed before the crisis. Businesses will have a larger participation in their investment plans in order to be sustainable and have greater performance, he added.

Commenting on the importance of internal control, Tourkolias stressed that Greek banks have developed advanced internal control systems that are constantly readjusting to new demands. For National Bank, internal control is a timeless compass for its activity, he noted. National Bank has been prepared to meet a new stricter supervisory framework which will be put into force on a pan-European level.

[02] Greek fiscal deficit at 12.2 pct of GDP in 2013

In its revised figures for fiscal deficit and public debt in the EU, Eurostat said that the Greek fiscal deficit rose to 12.2 pct of GDP in 2013 from 8.6 pct in 2012 and 10.1 pct in 2011, while the country's public debt rose to 174.9 pct of GDP in 2013 (319.13 bln euros), from 156.9 pct in 2012 and 171.3 pct in 2011.

In the Eurozone, the fiscal deficit totaled 2.9 pct of GDP in 2013, from 3.6 pct in 2012 and 4.1 pct in 2011, while in the EU the fiscal deficit was 3.2 pct, 4.2 pct and 4.5 pct, respectively.

Eurozone's public debt rose to 90.9 pct of GDP in 2013, while in the EU, the public debt was 85.4 pct of GDP in 2013.

Luxembourg and Germany were the only states to record a fiscal surplus in 2013, while Estonia, Denmark and Latvia recorded the lowest fiscal deficits.

Estonia, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Romania and Latvia recorded the lowest public debt rates in 2013, while Greece, Portugal, Italy, Ireland and Belgium the highest debt levels.

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