Citizens of Serbia, FYR Macedonia and Montenegro will have access to Paypal in 2011

The PayPal online payment system will be available from 2011 for the citizens of Serbia, FYR Macedonia and Montenegro. According to Serbian daily 24 Sata, initially users in those three countries will only be able to use the service for internet shopping, while local merchants will not be able to charge for their services via PayPal. The offer will later expand, including in cooperation with local banks. PayPal allows any business or consumer with an email address to securely, conveniently and cost-effectively send and receive payments online. Our network builds on the existing financial infrastructure of bank accounts and credit cards to create a global, real-time payment solution. We deliver a product ideally suited for small businesses, online merchants, individuals and others currently underserved by traditional payment mechanisms.

News source: Balkans.com link: article

EBRD extends financing to Piraeus Bank Romania, Piraeus Bank Bulgaria, and Tirana Bank in support to the real economies in the region

The EBRD has signed today three credit lines worth a total of €200 million with subsidiaries of Piraeus Bank in Romania, Bulgaria, and Albania for on-lending to businesses in their respective countries.  Under the project Piraeus Bank Romania will receive €90 million, Piraeus Bank Bulgaria will receive €70 million, and Tirana Bank will get €40 million of new funding from the EBRD.
The EBRD financing will provide the three banks with medium term senior funding to support their funding base, diversify and extend the maturity of their liabilities and enhance their lending to the economy as well as strengthen further their presence in these markets.

”The EBRD is pleased to expand its cooperation with the subsidiaries of the Piraeus group in the region, as support for the banks and the real economy is particularly important given the relative fragility of the economic recovery in much of south-eastern Europe. The project will help to ensure a continued flow of credit to private companies operating in Romania, Bulgaria, and Albania at a time when businesses are still facing difficulties in obtaining funding for their operation and development’, said Nick Tesseyman, EBRD Managing Director for Financial Institutions.

news links: EBRD link: article

Greek bank stress tests delayed

The international community has postponed bank stress tests for Greece to give the country breathing space as Athens prepares to test the success of its European roadshow last week by raising more money in the capital markets.
The so-called “troika” – the International Monetary Fund, European Commission and European Central Bank – has agreed with Greece’s central bank to delay testing the solvency of the country’s struggling bank sector by one month to the end of October.

The delay means that the banks’ nine-month results could be assessed, as well as the outcome of a €1.7bn capital raising by National Bank of Greece, the country’s largest lender, which is due to be completed next month. “A successful offering by NBG would boost investor confidence ... It would also accelerate mergers and acquisitions already under discussion,” said a senior Greek banker.

News source: FT.com link: article