EIB and HSBC deal to fund Greek SMEs

Greek companies engaged in international activities will benefit from a new 200-million-euro trade finance partner

Tax question. The dilemma of indirect taxes and whether to reduce rates after the elections or not is expected to come into focus during the pre-election period. The prime minister had been leaving the possibility open until after the polls, while the opposition wants to sharply reduce both value-added tax and excise taxes on fuel. ship between the European Investment Bank (EIB) and HSBC Bank Plc, it was announced in Athens on Thursday, in the presence of Deputy Minister of Development and Investment Yiannis Tsakiris. The initiative will support trade and export finance services provided by participating Greek banks to local companies and addresses a market gap that continues to restrict international business by Greek companies. The EIB’s Trade Finance Facility, to which HSBC has been a key partner from the outset, was developed especially for SMEs and mid-caps in Greece and will continue to support letters of credit and trade-related guarantees covering exchange rate, political and payment risks. Following this agreement, companies across Greece will benefit from new trade financing provided locally by Eurobank, National Bank of Greece and Piraeus Bank, and guaranteed by the EIB and HSBC, alongside other international banks.

T-bills. Greece will sell 625 million euros of three-month Treasury bills on February 1, the country’s Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA) said on Friday. The agency last sold three-month T-bills earlier this month with the paper priced to yield 2.18%. The settlement date of the new T-bills will be this Friday. Only primary dealers will be allowed to participate and no commission will be paid. Primary dealers can submit non-competitive bids for up to an additional 30% of the auctioned amount until Thursday, the PDMA said. (Reuters)

Turkey-sanctions. On a trip to Turkey and the Middle East this week, the US Treasury Department’s top sanctions official will warn countries and businesses that they could lose US market access if they do business with entities subject to US curbs as Washington cracks down on Russian attempts to evade sanctions.