Bi-Weekly Report 20 August-2 September 2019

TURKEY

The Turkish economy shrinks by less than expected in Q2:19 (down 1.5% y-o-y), supported by increasing net exports and inventory stabilization

Economic activity is set to gain steam on the back of monetary stimulus and supportive base effects

BULGARIA

ECB assessment finds capital shortfall at two domestically-owned banks in the run up to Bulgaria's participation in the European Banking Union

The banking system's profitability strengthened in H1:19, mainly due to lower provisioning

SERBIA

Easing inflation and strong appreciation pressures on the RSD strengthened the NBS' hand to lower its key rate by an additional 25 bps to 2.5%

The fiscal balance deteriorated in H1:19

CYPRUS

The underlying profitability (excluding non-recurrent revenue) of the banking system is estimated to have turned marginally positive in Q1:19, following the negative impact on the bottom line from the cleaning-up of the sector's balance sheet in H2:18

APPENDIX: FINANCIAL MARKETS