Rating agency Moody's upgraded the credit outlook for Portugal's banks to stable from negative on Thursday citing prospects of economic recovery after 2020's steep pandemic-induced slump, even as it expected their asset quality to deteriorate.
By Reuters Staff
(Corrects name of agency in second paragraph.)
STOCKHOLM, March 24 (Reuters) - Swedish rules on repaying mortgage debt, which were suspended last spring to help households remain solvent amid the coronavirus pandemic, will resume in September, the country’s financial regulator said on Wednesday.
The mortgage break was used by 230,000 borrowers, but with household debt rising in 2020, a return to stricter rules was needed, particularly as the wider economy had stabilised after the shock of the virus, the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority said in a report.
“The macroeconomic development has stabilised . therefore,(FSA) makes the assessment that the temporary exemption will not be extended; it will expire on 31 August 2021,” the watchdog said.
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MILAN (Reuters Breakingviews) - Italy, the first developed nation to get thoroughly thwacked by the coronavirus, earlier this week began allowing some pharmacies to provide Covid-19 vaccines to eligible citizens. While that’s more than two months behind the UK and United States, it’s at least a step forward. So, it’s unfortunate to see Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s government spending so much of its political capital arguing about another bewildering measure it unveiled this week in the name of protecting people from the virus.
A healthcare worker administers an injection at the Santa Chiara hospital as doctors begin testing phase 2 and 3 of Italy s ReiThera coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine on patients after initial positive test results, in Pisa, Italy, April 1, 2021.
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LISBON, March 30 (Reuters) - Bank of Portugal Governor Mario Centeno said on Tuesday he is against extending the loan repayments freeze aimed at helping businesses and individuals through the pandemic, and banks have to be prepared for the planned end of the scheme in September.
The volume of loan repayments suspended by Portuguese banks under the scheme slipped in January to 45.7 billion euros ($54 billion), further retreating from a peak in September.
The freeze, in part aimed at avoiding a jump in bad loans at banks that spent the past five years reducing their ratios of non-performing loans, will end on Sept. 30. Some loans, namely mortgage loans, will start paying interest as of April.
By Reuters Staff
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The Cape Town headquarters of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) is seen in this picture taken March 1, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings/File Photo
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa collected 1.25 trillion rand ($85 billion) in tax revenue in the financial year ended March 2021, around 12% less than the government’s original target of 1.425 trillion rand, the revenue service said on Thursday.
The economy, in recession even before the coronavirus struck, shrank by 7% in 2020, while unemployment also soared, leading to a record budget deficit as the government was starved of revenue while forced to spend more to fight the virus.