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Wednesday, September 24, 2014

BNP Paribas Board Meets Friday To Replace Chairman Prot: Sources

By Matthias Blamont and Maya NikolaevaPARIS (Reuters) - BNP Paribas Chairman Baudouin Prot, shaper of the French bank's strategy for more than a decade, has quit and the board will meet on Friday to decide on his replacement, sources close to the situation said.Two sources said Jean Lemierre, the bank's key negotiator in the record-breaking $8.9 billion fine it paid this year for violating U.S. sanctions, was the most likely successor.One of them said Lemierre, a former executive of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), was the only person in the frame. The source said Prot was not pushed out but "felt the need to take responsibility" for the ultimately costly and embarrassing sanctions-busting era, having maintained the bank's stability through the summer.The sanctions issue shook the bank to its core, threatening its debt rating and leading French President Francois Hollande to voice concerns that U.S. authorities were taking "disproportionate" actions against the bank."It was a personal decision," a third source said on Thursday of 63 year-old Prot's move. "After more than 30 years with the bank, he wants to take a step back."Prot's mandate as chairman was renewed this year and had been due to run until 2017. He joined BNP in 1983 and became chairman in 2011, helping mastermind acquisitions such as Paribas in 1999, Italy's BNL in 2006 and Belgium's Fortis in 2009, deals which created France's biggest listed bank.Prot is the second top official to leave since the sanctions-busting affair came to light earlier this year. The bank announced the retirement of Chief Operating Officer Georges Chodron de Courcel in mid-June. Its head of compliance, Jean Clamon, is also due to depart before the end of the year.Industry sources speculated that Prot's departure could be an opportunity for the bank to move more quickly into a new generation of leadership, citing potential for finance director Lars Machenil for instance to get an enhanced role.Talk that Prot would fall on his sword had circulated even before the mammoth fine for breaking U.S. sanctions against countries including Sudan. The bank also pleaded guilty to two criminal charges and accepted a one-year ban on part of its dollar-clearing business that will start in January.Question marks over Prot's future continued after it emerged that a U.S. Treasury official met him and other bank officials as early as 2006 and warned the bank it risked a penalty.The violations began in 2002 and continued until 2012, U.S. regulators said when the fine was announced at the end of June.No individuals have been charged, but U.S. authorities have said the investigation is continuing.BIGGEST FINEThe fine was the biggest to date for such transgressions and the largest ever U.S. fine against a European bank. It was one of a series of big fines handed out by U.S. prosecutors to the banking industry in recent months.Lemierre, 64, is a former classmate of Prot at the prestigious college Ecole nationale d'administration (ENA).He also he took part in talks on private-sector writedowns of Greek debt in early 2012, co-chairing the creditors' committee of the International Institute of Finance, and has also worked for the EBRD, which supports development projects in emerging Europe and North Africa.Lemierre could not be reached for comment.BNP Paribas separated the functions of chairman and chief executive a decade ago. The bank's chief executive is Jean-Laurent Bonnafe.Like any top bank executive, Prot has strong political ties. According to one person who knows him, his actions in the financial crisis in holding onto distressed Greek debt and the bank's Italian bank holdings came directly from Paris and Berlin.Buying the troubled bank Fortis - Belgium's top financial institution - was another political act, the legacy of which is a 10 percent stake in BNP Paribas held by the Belgian government.Prot's tendency to frown deeply and constantly sweep back his unruly mop of grey hair marks him out among otherwise anonymous looking dark-suited bankers, and in private he is known to like pointing out how little he earns compared with an "Anglo-Saxon" banking set he is clearly suspicious of.Once, hosting a breakfast briefing for journalists in London in a basement hotel room, Prot insisted on working through a power cut, continuing his explanations of handouts and charts by candlelight.(Additional reporting by Steve Slater and Alex Smith; Writing by Andrew Callus; Editing by Mark John and David Holmes)Join the conversation about this story »


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Greek civil servants go on strike

Greek civil servants on a nationwide strike against planned job cuts gathered outside a court in Athens to show solidarity with cleaning staff laid off by the Finance Ministry last year, Press TV reports. The civil servants gathered outside the court in ...


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Reichenbach Says SMEs Are Key To Greece’s Recovery

On Tuesday, the head of the European Commission’s Task Force for Greece, Horst Reichenbach, presented a report on small and medium-sized enterprises, stressing that these were key to the country’s economic recovery. “The economy will suffer if SMEs are unable to thrive in this country and, therefore, growth will suffer as well. So, I appreciate the cooperation that exists between the market sector representatives that seeks to turn into action the recommendations included in this report,” he said in a press conference. Reichenbach said that Greece has achieved a key improvement in indices, but noted that a speeding up of reforms that will bolster small and medium-sized enterprises is necessary. As regards the contributions to social insurance funds and taxation, he said that such problems cannot be solved in a systematic way. There are ideas, however, on how to avoid the accumulation of debt in social insurance funds – among them, the extension of repayment time. Reichenbach added that significant effort has been made to increase exports, though additional actions are still necessary. Reichenbach said that efforts are being made by public administration working groups to enhance institutions and replace high-interest loans with cheaper ones. “The 200 million euros earmarked for this purpose is small but a success in the effort will be encouraging,” he said. SMEs have been hit by taxation and lack of liquidity, but this does not mean that something is fundamentally wrong with Greek entrepreneurship, he noted. Reichenbach admitted that progress has come slower than anticipated. But he expressed certainty that the efforts that made by the Minister of Competitiveness will bring results. They will take time, he stressed. On the measures for facilitating exports, he said that progress was slower compared to initial estimates, adding that SMEs are still faced with excessive red tape. He underlined that the Eurogroup expects Greece to create its own prospects for the future and expressed hope that the report’s recommendations will assist in this effort. Reichenbach also noted repeatedly that the new financing period for the structural funds has just been launched, paving the way for a solution to capital guarantees and liquidity generally.


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Venizelos Optimistic That No Snap Elections Will Be Needed In Greece

Greece’s coalition government may propose a “non-political figure” for president in March to seek consensus and avoid snap elections that could derail its economic progress, Deputy Prime Minister Evangelos Venizelos told Reuters in New York. “Although the Greek president’s role is largely ceremonial, failure by parliament to elect one would force early national elections with no likely outright winner, plunging Greece into a political crisis a few years after narrowly avoiding default,” Reuters notes. In a recent New York interview, Venizelos said that the government was open to candidates who may not be politicians, but perhaps academics or even cultural icons. The move would break with decades of tradition. “The list for president is very limited,” Venizelos said while attending the U.N. General Assembly. He did not disclose names for candidates. “We have some scenarios but we are absolutely open.” Greece’s 300-seat house is currently too fragmented to conceivably come up with the 180 votes needed to elect a president. The ruling coalition of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’s conservative New Democracy and Venizelos’s socialist PASOK party has 154 seats. Venizelos said they would need to convince 26 deputies from other parties to back the government’s choice. “I’m optimistic because public opinion … is against the idea of premature elections,” continued Venizelos. “The large majority of public opinion understands very well the need to protect the political, governmental stability” Opinion polls also show that no party could win outright if elections were held now. New Democracy is projected to garner about 22%, behind the radical left main opposition SYRIZA, which has 71 seats in parliament and leads polls with 26%. “It’s not possible to form a one-party government. It’s absolutely vital to prepare a coalition,” Venizelos said. Athens expects to reach agreement on additional debt relief this year. It is expected to be Greece’s final step towards funding itself without outside help. A major hurdle in its path is the political instability stemming from the president’s election, a process Venizelos said needs to begin in early February. Venizelos said parties and deputies must weigh the gravity of the situation. “The nationally right option is to protect the stability and to elect the new president as a result of a consensual process,” Venizelos said.


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Does Greece Overtax its Businesses?

As the Greek government negotiates with international lenders for a fresh tax relief program, a new international survey argues that Greece has just opened up a fresh “financial wound” by raising corporate tax rates. Other debt-ridden countries – Portugal, for example – have reduced their corporate tax rates, while Greece’s own neighbors have navigated a more conservative path, keeping their corporate taxes relatively low. According to research conducted by KPMG in 2014, Greece was one of just nine countries that increased corporate tax rates by 6 percentage points (from 20% to 26%). Only three of the other eight surveyed countries surpassed Greece: India (33.99%), Israel (26.50%) and Luxembourg (29.22%). Portugal, where corporate taxes have been reduced from 25% to 23%, has announced further plans to reduce its rate to 19% by 2018. Neighboring Albania, despite the fact that it has recently hiked its tax rate by 5%, still taxes its businesses at a mere 15%. The same tax rates are implemented in Serbia, while Skopje and Bulgaria tax their businesses at 10%, and Turkey at 20%. In 2014, the average corporate tax rate in the EU stands at 19.68%. In the Eurozone alone it stands at 21.34%. Both fall well short of Greece’s percentage.  


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Is the Mother of Alexander the Great in the Tomb at Amphipolis? Part 2

The newly discovered caryatids at the Amphipolis tomb and the symbolism of a lion suits the case of Olympias being buried in this fascinating ancient Greek tomb.


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The German Press on the Greek Rebound

samaras_merkel Angela Merkel's praise for Greece's economic reform is capturing German headlines in the wake of Prime Minister Antonis ...


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Not another Greek tragedy: surviving addiction

Chrissa Loukadakis, 33, Greek Student of Santa Monica College. She's a professional dancer and practice Ballet. LACMA(Los Angeles Contemporary ...


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Half of Greeks Unable to Meet their Tax Obligations

Greek Tax According to a recent “Economic Barometer” report, 55% of Greeks are unable to meet their tax and social insurance obligations.


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Multicultural greek organizations hope to increase presence on campus

Chapter houses for the University of Minnesota's multicultural greek organizations aren't among University Avenue Southeast's row of fraternities, nor ...


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Arcadian Expats Offer Computers to Greek Special-Needs Schools

student migration Arcadian members of the Greek Diaspora have offered computers and an air conditioner to special-needs schools in Tripoli, ...


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Which Tourists Spend the Most in Greece

Although tourist arrivals this summer hit a record high, revenue from tourism in July and the first months of 2014 remained low due to the reduction of the average expenditure by tourists who have chosen Greece to spend their summer vacation. Data ...


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Albania: “Omonoia” Complains About Violation of Greek Minority's Rights

albania The Greek organization “Omonoia” has accused Albania's left-wing governing coalition of “non-respect of the pre-election and post-election ...


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2014 World Cup Of Pool Update (Day 1): Finland Blanks Korea, Greece Edges Indonesia To ...

Top and higher seeds Philippines (no. 1), Finland (no. 8) and Greece (no. 13) took care of business in the Round of 32 of the 2014 World Cup of Pool ...


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Lucescu, Sa Pinto take Greek club coaching jobs

Former Romania national team coach Razvan Lucescu signed a one-year contract with Greek Super League side Xanthi on Wednesday while ...


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Alex Paulus of Columbia Heights

Alex Paulus’ life, what little we can learn of it, reveals in high contrast the complexities inherent in every human being. In keeping with Greek sensibilities a person’s funeral is most often understood as representative of one’s life. Here are selections from how Paulus’ funeral saw description through American eyes: “A ‘king’ was buried, Monday […] The post Alex Paulus of Columbia Heights appeared first on The National Herald.


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Brutal police provocation at Greek protest over fascist murder of rapper

According to demonstrators who spoke to the Greek daily I Efimerida Ton Syntakton (Ef.Syn.), the violence was initiated by police provocateurs who ...


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Greece's Revenues Take Big Plunge

Greece's Revenues Take Big Plunge. Wednesday, September 24, 2014 | By THE NATIONAL HERALD STAFF 0 comment. Piles of Euros. With the ...


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Meet The 18-Year-Old Greek Princess Who Is Fashion's Next 'It' Girl

Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece is the latest royal to be swept up into the fashion world. The 18-year-old daughter of Crown Princess Marie-Chantal ...


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The 5000-Year-Old Sunken City in Southern Greece

Underwater exploration of the original foundations of Pavlopetri, Greece. (Screenshot/The University of Nottingham/Youtube) ...


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Weekend Watch: Discover the Dinosaurs, HoLa Festival, Greek Fest and more

The 35th annual Greek Fest is Friday, Sept. 26, through Sunday, Sept. 28, at St. George Greek Orthodox Church, 4070 Kingston Pike. The event will ...


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Reverb: New Art from Greece at SMFA

Reverb: New Art from Greece Loukia Alavanou, Anastasia Douka, Eirene Efstathiou, Andreas Kassapis, Dimitris Papoutsakis, Eftihis Patsourakis, ...


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1000s Demonstrate In Greece Over Job Cuts

Greece's civil servants held a one-day strike over job cuts Tuesday, forcing ministries and tax offices to remain closed and hospitals to operate with ...


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Greece-Based Operator Takes Delivery of Handysize Eco-Bulker

Greece-based shipper NewLead Holdings Ltd (NewLead) has announced it has taken delivery of a fuel-efficient 2013-built Handysize dry bulker.


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SGPC condemns attack on Sikh Gurdwaras in Greece

In a statement released here, SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar said the Greece government must trace the miscreants involved in the attack and ...


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7th αniμαsyroς

This year's festival is ready to 'disembark' and magically 'take over' Syros' capital, Ermoupoli, with a number of Greek premieres at the exquisite ...


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Italy to return 80 ancient coins to Greece

Italy is due to return to Greece on Monday 80 ancient coins that were seized by Italian authorities six years ago. Italy to return 80 ancient coins to ...


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Which Tourists Spend the Most in Greece

Although tourist arrivals this summer hit a record high, revenue from tourism in July and the first months of 2014 remained low due to the reduction of the average expenditure by tourists who have chosen Greece to spend their summer vacation. Data ...


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Greek Cyprus agrees with Italian firms on gas exploration

Greek Cypriot officials met with Eni/KOGAS representatives to discuss and investigate areas of cooperation related to potential gas resources valorization, with priority to the onshore LNG option. The Greek Cypriot administration's Energy Minister Yiorgos ...


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Greek workers walk out against job losses

Greek public sector workers launched their first nationwide walkout after the summer lull yesterday to protest against planned job cuts prescribed by the country's European Union and IMF ...


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Women Guarding 2300-Year-Old Tomb Revive Greek Hopes

When Greek archaeologists brushed away sandy soil to reveal two female statues guarding a tomb in Amphipolis this month, they put more than the 2,300-year-old town on the map. After six years of ...


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Rise in tourism arrivals dwarfs gains of regional rivals

By Stathis Kousounis The growth in the number of tourism arrivals in Greece in the year to July was almost three times that of rival Mediterranean destinations such as Turkey and Spain.Bank of ...


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'Worrying signs' the US Greek yogurt boom is over: Sanford Bernstein

Wall Street brokerage Sanford Bernstein has highlighted "worrying signs" that growth in the US market for Greek yogurt is slowing to a halt. In a note published earlier this week, Andrew Wood, senior European food and household products analyst at Sanford ...


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OPAP wins Greeces horse race betting licence

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's privatisation agency named betting firm OPAP as the winner of the sole Greek horse race betting licence after the agency scrapped a previous tender last month due to ...


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Greece 7 arrested in illegal adoption ring babies came from neighboring Bulgaria

ATHENS, Greece – Police say seven people have been arrested in northern Greece for allegedly being part of an illegal adoption ring that sold babies from Bulgaria to childless couples in ...


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Greek Bonds Drop a Third Day on Concern Budget Controls at Risk

Greece's bailout program will be a topic of discussion in coming weeks, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said yesterday following talks with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras in ...


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