Greek central bank sees credit risks in Balkans

ATHENS, Feb 9 – Greece’s central bank raised concern as Greek banks’ subsidiaries in Balkan countries have approved loans exceeding the value of the deposits.
Ta Nea daily said Greece’s four largest banks – National Bank of Greece, Eurobank, Alpha and Pireos – all present in Southeastern Europe, have approved loans much higher than investments the banks had collected in the region’s countries.
Bank of Greece is particularly concerned about three factors related to markets in Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Macedonia and Turkey: sharp decline in economic growth, steep local currency declines, exchange rates and current account deficit