EU-ENERGY: We have been saying for some time that it is not easy for the EU to break free from Russian energy, no matter how much it wants to. Yesterday, however, the Norwegian Minister of Energy, one of the staunchly anti-Russian countries of the North, stated that the war in the Persian Gulf reopens the issue of sanctions on natural gas.
He isa realist, not one of Putin's agents.
No one has failed to notice the explosive rise in natural gas prices (which yesterday reached 70% above last Friday's levels), which has already been caused by the conflict, reminiscent of the crisis that erupted a few years ago due to the war in Ukraine.
Because American LNG is all well and good, but if there is a permanentdisruptionto production from Qatar (the world's second-largest exporter), LNG shipments will start flooding the market from various Asian countries, driving prices sky-high .
And the game will become "first come, first served."
EU-ENERGY II: Yesterday, however, we had a second case. Where the EU was completely indifferent to the complaints of the Hungarians and Slovaks against Ukraine, because the latter interrupted the flow of Russian oil to them, citing infrastructure damage, it suddenly changed its tune.
If you remember, this was the reason why Orbán blocked the €90 billion loan to Ukraine.
However, just yesterday, following the sharp rise in energy prices, the Financial Times reportedthat Ukraine is refusing to allow on-site inspections by EU experts (accompanied by Slovaks and Hungarians).
To such an extent that it rejected a request from Ursula (there is only one Ursula, just as there is only one Zoe in Greece) and EU President Antonio Costa.
Obviously, the issue will not end here, especially if it becomes apparent that the war in the Gulf will last longer than the European economy can withstand, i.e. a few (not many) weeks.
Then inflation will start to spiral out of control.
P.S.: There is no doubt that Ukraine is one of the big losers of Trump's decision to strike Iran in cooperation with Israel. The consumption of valuable (also for Ukraine) American ammunition in the Persian Gulf, as well as the rise in energy prices, is... butter on Putin's bread.
MITSOTAKIS: There are two reasons why the prime minister has chosen to brief the political leaders concerned individually rather than convening the Council of Political Leadersto inform them of our country's position on the crisis in the Middle East.
First, because he thinks it's more honest and constructive to talk one-on-one than with all the political leaders at once. Second, because calling a meeting of the Council of Leaders under the President of the Republic would make Greece's mission in Cyprus seem more dramatic.
"There is no reason to create a sense of greater danger among citizens," Pavlos Marinakis said at yesterday's briefing with political editors.
The first to be informed was Nikos Androulakis. The meeting was scheduled for 12:00 yesterday, but the leader of the official opposition arrived at Mr. Mitsotakis' office in Parliament a few minutes late.
"PASOK time," joked the prime minister, looking at his watch. "No, it's okay... Five minutes is perfectly acceptable,"he commented, wanting to avoid any misunderstandings.
The tête-à-tête lasted 40 minutes and, as reported by both sides, took place in a positive atmosphere, which was also reflected in Nikos Androulakis's demeanor as he left."All good,"he said, and hurried to proceed with one of his favorite habits lately, making a video for TikTok.
HATZIDAKIS: The tactic of... comparisons continues to be applied at the Maximos Mansion, presenting citizens with a dilemma in view of the elections.
The vice president of the government, Kostis Hatzidakis, did so yesterday (on SKAI TV), referring to the "contradictions of the opposition," both on the left and on the far right.
As he said, "on the one hand, some on the left express a certain sympathy for the Iranian regime, a regime that is undeniably oppressive.
On the other hand, on the far right, while they have long accused the government of having a passive stance towards Turkey, now that decisions have been made to send two frigates and four aircraft to Cyprus, I am once again seeing statements such as "where are you trying to get us into trouble?" All this shows that there is confusion...
Perhaps there are some who believe that if Mr. Velopoulos or Ms. Konstantopoulou were prime minister, the handling of such crises would be better.
BORIDIS: "Justified" after the completion of the work of the OPECEPE Investigation Committee , says the former minister.
"I resigned for reasons of integrity and waited for the outcome of the process. In other words, I did what I thought was right. Now I feel 100% vindicated, " Makis Voridis said in an interview (with Parapolitika) .
"The criminal intent was clear. I endured the torment of the investigation, but after all that, we need to take stock of the situation. Was there anyone who said that Voridis took half a euro? No,"he noted.
Hoping, according to some, for his return to the government.
OPTIMA: The bank will proceed with a new issue of subordinated bonds (Tier II) in order to strengthen its capital ratios, covering the increase in risk-weighted assets.
The bank's management is in open communication with the supervisor on the matter. It should be noted that Optima also issued Tier II bonds last year.
ETHNIKI: The bank's mortgage loan arrangements halved last year, with their value falling to €44 million from €82 million in 2024. On the other hand, the value of small business and commercial loan settlements remained stable.
During the year, National Bank signed contracts for the sale of 423 repossessed properties worth €76 million, while properties worth approximately €10 million came into the group's ownership through collateral recovery.
On December 31, 2025 , the assets (almost entirely real estate) of the NBG group from collateral recovery amounted to €335 million.
During the past year, the bank conducted 52 auctions, 12 of which were successful.
Finally, of the 6,643 approvals for the new bankruptcy framework , 2,162 were completed , relating to loans of €60 million.
NATIONAL II: At the end of 2025, foreign institutional investors held more than80% of the bank's share capital, while domestic pension funds controlled 0.26% and domestic institutional investors as a whole controlled 5.5%..
PIRAEUS: The bank classified a portfolio of non-performing business loans (Project Ocean), with a book value of €68 million, as held for sale.
The sale is expected to be completed in the second quarter of this year. Upon classification, it recognized a profit of €21 million from the reversal of accumulated impairment provisions, a development that suggests it has received offers.
In addition, at group level, a portfolio of recovered properties worth €46 million (Pandora project), other properties with a book value of €29 million, and properties belonging to Ethniki Insurance worth €9 million.
STOCK MARKET: Sellers hit banks and blue chips mercilessly, having the advantage of posting strong gains on many stocks since the beginning of the year.
One of the characteristics of yesterday's session was that the biggest losses were recorded by stocks with large gains.
For example, ElvalHalcor, which yesterday recorded the biggest losses (-12.38%) among FTSE 25 companies, had achieved a 31.4% rise at its peak for the year (€4.94 on February 12). Yesterday, it closed at €3.68 and is now marginally negative for the year as a whole.
Until the day before yesterday, Viohalco had an annual increase of 27.73%. Sales drove it to €14 with a daily decline of 7.89%.
The above is even more evident in the case of GEK Terna. Until yesterday, its return was 38.8%, and pressure drove it down to €32.26, or 8.51% lower.
BANKS: The sell-off wiped out the year's gains in the shares of systemic groups. Eurobank landed at €3.411 yesterday (down 7.81%) and is now just a few cents away from its price at the last session of 2025, €3.425.
The picture is slightly better for Piraeus Bank, whose share price slipped to €7.1 (yesterday's decline reached 6.18%), compared to €6.794 at the end of last year.
In the case of ETE, the opening price was €13, and the stock has already fallen to €12.45 (yesterday's decline was 6.67%).
Alpha Banklost its 2026 gains from Monday's session (closing at €3.5 compared to €3.58 on December 31).
REFINERIES: Noteworthy in the session was that even Motor Oil shares did not escape the wave of sales. Motor Oil and Helleniq Energy, which had closed on a positive note on Monday, as described yesterday in this column.
Motor Oil fell 6.62% to €34.7, and Helleniq Energy fell 3.37% to €8.59.
AEGEAN-DAA: The two stocks that took the first direct hit from developments in the Middle East (flight cancellations, etc.) continued to be sold off. Eftychios Vassilakis ' share is now at €11.82, whileEl. Venizelos'is at €10.1.
The former has fallen 14% over two days, while the latter has fallen 11.7%.
GROWTH AWARDS: For the annual awards presented by Grant Thornton and Eurobank, read the relevant report on Euro2day.gr. We will focus on the news (and... surprise) of the evening, which was delivered by the vice president of the government, Kostis Hatzidakis.
Speaking at the panel discussion held during the event, the ever-likeable Kostis revealed that Greece is expected to receivea "comparable amount"from European funds for 2028-2034 to what it received in the current six-year period, i.e. the approximately €77.5 billion that these funds amounted to, together with the Recovery Fund.
He added that concerns about what will happen after the RRF expires, regardless of who is in government, are unfounded. We could almost hear the sigh of relief in the packed auditorium of the Megaron Concert Hall, filled with distinguished guests from the business world.
Because concern about what will happen "after" the RRF is pretty much common ground in the market.
GROWTH AWARDS II: The panel, moderated by the always intelligent, sometimes slightly... heretical, Nikos Karamouzis (president of G.T.), also included the president of SEV, Spyros Theodoropoulos, Eurobank CEO Fokion Karavias, and Grant Thornton CEO Vasilis Kazas.
The discussion was extensive and interesting, but we will only share a few points that stood out to us:
- Karavias' reference to Greece's interconnection problem, with an emphasis on the lack of serious rail transport, which prevents the arrival of serious new investments.
- The... jab by the president of the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV) at the government, saying that after the great success of the Recovery Fund, where the four major banks had the"upper hand"in the effective evaluation of investment proposals, we are returning to the past.
This is because, under the new development laws, evaluation will be carried out using the traditional system, by the state. Why is this?
For his part, Vasilis Kazas listed the three major challenges he sees ahead. The adoption of artificial intelligence and other modern technologies by Greek companies, the implementation of a fair procurement system with AI for public tenders, and the need for mergers and acquisitions between small and medium-sized enterprises in order to increase competitiveness.
The latter, of course, has been discussed since we were young, both by the panel participants and by us here in this column, but it always stumbles on the famous Greek mentality.
The always eloquent Theodoropoulos described it caustically with a pithy phrase: "Dance alone and jump as much as you want."