NBS: Greek banks in Serbia stable

Belgrade, May. 07. 2010 (Serbia today) - The financial situation of Greek-owned domestic banks is stable and they are liquid and solvent, a statement the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) announced on Wednesday.These banks, as well as other banking institutions operating in Serbia, are resistant to external shocks, which has been confirmed by stress tests conducted by the NBS on the methodology of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the checks carried out by a joint team of the IMF and the World Bank under the program of assessment of Serbia's financial sector, the NBS statement reads. In Serbia, there are four banks that are majority-owned by legal entities from Greece - Alpha Bank Serbia, Eurobank EFG, Piraeus Bank and Vojvođanska Banka - with a participation in the market of 16 percent. In 2009 these banks increased their credit activity by 10 percent, and the growing trend is continuing in this year. These banks, as members of the financial companies from Greece, operate in Serbia as independent legal entities within the frameworks of their banking groups, with the license of the NBS and their own capital, which enables them to properly and efficiently fulfill all their obligations towards their creditors, including the citizens.