A stress test on the health of the banking system in debt-stricken Greece has been postponed to allow the authorities more time to prepare, the Financial Times reported yesterday.
The newspaper said the IMF, European Commission and European Central Bank agreed with Greece’s central bank to delay testing the solvency of the bank sector by one month to the end of next month. In May, the three put together a 110 billion euro (US$140 billion) rescue package for Athens to save it from default, with the government in turn adopting draconian austerity measures to repair its strained public finances.
The Financial Times said the delay in the test means that the banks’ nine-month results can be assessed, along with a cash call next month of 1.7 billion euros by National Bank of Greece (NBG), the country’s largest lender.
The report quoted an unnamed senior Greek banker as saying that “a successful offering by NBG would boost investor confidence ... It would also accelerate mergers and acquisitions already under discussion.”
Greece offers 300 million euros of three-month bills today, after selling more than 1 billion euros last week, as the government tests how far it has gone in restoring its credibility on the markets after the country’s near collapse in May.
While Greece has been able to raise money from the markets, it has also had to pay very high rates of return to get it and the key issue will be whether it can reduce its borrowing costs.
The EU carried out stress tests on 91 major EU banks in July, with most judged to have passed despite some criticism that the testing was not rigorous enough.
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
COVETED PRIZE: The US president would be a peace prize laureate should he persuade Xi Jinping to abandon military aggression against Taiwan, William Lai said US President Donald Trump should get the Nobel Peace Prize should he be able to convince Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to abandon the use of force against Taiwan, President William Lai (賴清德) told a conservative US radio show and podcast in an interview. The US is Taiwan’s most important international backer, despite the absence of formal ties, but since Trump took office earlier this year he has not announced any new arms sales to the nation. Trump could meet Xi at the APEC summit in South Korea on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. Lai, speaking on The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton
A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would severely threaten the national security of the US, Japan, the Philippines and other nations, while global economic losses could reach US$10 trillion, National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) wrote in an article published yesterday in Foreign Affairs. “The future of Taiwan is not merely a regional concern; it is a test of whether the international order can withstand the pressure of authoritarian expansionism,” Lin wrote in the article titled “Taiwan’s Plan for Peace Through Strength — How Investments in Resilience Can Deter Beijing.” Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) intent to take Taiwan by force
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