– Hello there, the week kicked off with quite an impressive — and positive — move by Pierrakakis, who scrapped all bank charges at ATMs. Earlier, a huge fuss had broken out over the fact that Piraeus Bank had sold 800 ATMs to a company called Cashflex, which then announced increased transaction fees. Over the weekend, the minister did two things: first, he got the green light from Mitsotakis and Stournaras’ approval, and second, he checked what the situation is across Europe. His team informed him that in the vast majority of EU countries, access to cash via ATMs is free or dirt cheap for citizens. “Greece follows the most expensive and fragmented model,” they noted, “since domestic banks charge customers of other banks at their ATMs.” And indeed, if you take a look, the only countries that still charge are the UK and, within the EU, just Spain and Ireland — other than good ol’ Greece, which was charging people until yesterday. Conclusion: first, Pierrakakis did the right thing. Second, welcome to the party (even if the government is five years late). Third, big deal — the banks will lose, what, 40 million euros in total?

The two wrong turns

• There was major turmoil in the banking sector over Piraeus Bank’s wrong turn, as the government’s measures are sweeping — not just targeting that one bank. The last time the issue of fees and commissions came up, the banks’ total bill hit 100 million. Now, with rough early estimates, it’ll cost the system about 40 million euros. Piraeus Bank made two blunders. First, having sold off the ATMs located outside their branches, they should have made sure the new machines were rebranded — new colors, new name — before changing the pricing policy. But the changes were only made on a handful of ATMs, so customers thought it was still Piraeus Bank charging them, leading to a PR disaster: social media outrage and renewed public resentment against banks seen as socially tone-deaf. The second mistake was thinking they were safe. Knowing how private ATM operators charge (withdrawal fees between €3.50 and €4.95, with extra surcharges depending on the location), they figured their own fees were modest by comparison — and technically, they were. But guess what? The average customer doesn’t use private ATMs to compare prices — they just saw they were being charged by Piraeus Bank. And once the issue turned political, there was no wiggle room left.

The National Water Plan

• A few weeks ago, a meeting was held at the Government Vice Presidency, led by Hatzidakis and attended by several ministers and heads of public bodies, to discuss urgent interventions needed to avoid a serious water crisis. Water scarcity is knocking at the door, and drastic measures are required. I hear the details of the plan will be presented tomorrow at a meeting chaired by K.M. at Maximos Mansion, where things will be further explained. After all, time is money…

Without Karamanlis

• Today’s debate in Parliament on the proposal to refer Kostas Acharistos Karamanlis to the Judicial Council — following charges filed by the Pre-Investigative Committee — will be the first of several sessions set to electrify Parliament until it recesses. The former minister himself is not expected to speak, just like he didn’t during the session when the referral decision was made. As his close associates say, “He’s said all he had to say.” What remains to be seen is whether there will be any defections, like during the secret ballot for his referral — though those were balanced out by votes from independent MPs. The mood in general isn’t headed in that direction, but you never know.

Green frappé

• Yesterday’s resignation of the PASOK secretary in Heraklion, Mr. Antonopoulos (which you read here first), came as no surprise to those following the OPEKEPE affair. The party official (a friend of President Nikos) even claimed he voluntarily returned a subsidy of around €15,000 that he’d received in 2020, after applying for land in Tinos — despite being active in Crete. Politically, PASOK couldn’t afford to have one of its members involved in the scandal, even if no criminal charges are at play — so the resignation was the only way out. Notably, the former secretary Antonopoulos now appears to have taken over the KYD (Application Reception Center) previously run by “Frappé,” a.k.a. Xylouris. Antonopoulos had already been “locked on target” by M.M. during his background scan, was called out in Parliament last week by ND’s parliamentary spokesperson Makarios Lazaridis, and yesterday morning, Adonis (on ERT) basically hinted that more PASOK resignations are on the way.

Changes at V+O

• There’ve been management changes at V+O. In a LinkedIn post, Yiannis Olympios welcomed Teti Kanellopoulou as the new CEO of V+O and thanked Thomas Varvitsiotis, who will now serve as Management Advisor during the transition period, as he’s made it known he intends to run for office. Olympios, as executive chairman of V+O, now carries the torch to keep the group on its upward course. In his LinkedIn note, he writes with emotion about the 25 years he worked with Varvitsiotis, a time during which, as he puts it, “we became family and grew up together.”

For those still lost on the beach

• The optional public share swap offer for METLEN’s listing on the London Stock Exchange wraps up on Friday, July 25. For those who might’ve been too relaxed at the beach and forgot to submit their shares, here’s something to keep in mind: if the offer goes through, their shares will be frozen for more than a month. The only option during that period will be to participate in the so-called squeeze-out, where they can sell at €39. Those who skip that too will be even more stuck, hunting for their shares at the Deposits and Loans Fund. Meanwhile, if they want to sell, they won’t be able to — they’ll have to wait for the clearing process, which, best case, wraps up in early September (assuming the Capital Market Commission meets in August). On the flip side, those who join the public offer this week will have the new shares in their account by August 4 and can hit the beach for carefree holidays.

The Germans are coming back (for training purposes)

• As Greeks head out for summer holidays, the Germans are arriving to implement the agreement with Deutsche Bahn, which will take on the role of Technical Manager for OSE. This is part of a major reconstruction and upgrade program for the Greek railway system — with no changes to the status or operations of Hellenic Train. The Germans will assist with restructuring and training, and technical expertise and consulting from DB E&C (Deutsche Bahn’s services arm) is beginning, supporting areas such as safety, network management, and modernization of infrastructure. Initial goals include tech upgrades to the network (e.g., introducing or improving safety systems like ETCS), as well as improving operations and services. Deutsche Bahn is Germany’s largest state-owned railway company, with deep expertise in organizing, modernizing, and running vast networks — a key asset for OSE.

Space Hellas’ plans

• PPC (DEI) cut its dividend by €0.40, which caused its stock to drop -3% (-€0.44). JUMBO slashed its dividend by €0.506, and its stock slid -1.94% (-€0.60). Meanwhile, Space Hellas — which also cut a dividend of €0.15 yesterday — kept climbing for a 7th straight session, gaining +7.05% to hit €8.20, with its market cap racing toward €53 million. Over the past month, Space Hellas’ stock is up more than 30%, reaching its highest level in the past 14 months. Each upward move has been backed by increased trading volume — yesterday, 92,048 shares changed hands, far above the year’s daily average. Management insists that revenues from multiple ongoing projects will help significantly reduce bank debt and improve bottom-line profitability. So far, 50% of Space’s revenue has come from public-sector contracts. Between 2025–2027, the company aims to move into phase two of its transformation, expanding its product portfolio to win more business from the private sector — both in Greece and abroad.

The Revenge of the Small-Caps on the Stock Exchange

• The dizzying heights reached by the ten most popular large-cap stocks — now hovering around the 2,000-point mark — have sent investors scrambling for “opportunities” in mid- and small-cap stocks that seem to have been “left behind.” But, as often happens in the Greek stock market, this otherwise healthy search for investment opportunities also triggers the usual “lobbies,” convinced they can once again peddle their strange wares to the market. Right now — and it’s true — everyone’s flush with cash, having sold off some of the market’s heavy hitters that pushed the General Index to the verge of 2,000 points, closing yesterday at 1,970.41 points (-0.76%). The total trading value during yesterday’s downward session dropped to €177.4 million, with about €20 million in pre-arranged trades. The drop in trading value is to be expected: first, because there’s no mass sell-off of high-yield blue chips, and second, because investor interest has shifted to lower-capitalization stocks. As we mentioned, PPC and JUMBO have cut their dividends, while Piraeus (+0.33%) held its ground at €6.75, resisting the overall bank stock liquidation trend. One bright exception was Crediabank (formerly Attica), which posted gains of +6% at €1.198 on trading volume worth €7 million, nearing a €2 billion market cap. Despite traveler complaints, our “tourism industry” stocks had another good day — Athens International Airport climbed (+2.31%) to €10.18 and Aegean (+1.26%) to €12.90. Lamda followed suit with a +0.76% increase to €6.63, while ADMIE (+1.51%) seems optimistic about the ongoing cable saga, reaching €3.37. A similar wave of optimism is seen at Intralot (+0.88%) at €1.15 and Fourlis (+0.67%) at €4.48.

Export Credit Greece: Decisions Coming Soon

• The former Export Credit Insurance Organization (OAEP) has now been rebranded as Export Credit Greece and, since 2022, operates as a corporation to offer improved services to Greek export businesses. However, over the past six months, following a leadership change at ECG, the agency has been plagued by internal turmoil, intense friction, and executive resignations. Word is, announcements and decisions from the political leadership are imminent concerning the organization’s operational future.

Talk Resumes About Possible Successors to Jerome Powell

• The White House denies any plans to replace Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell early. Still, it subtly suggests that Powell is “under scrutiny” for excessive spending on renovating the central bank’s headquarters — and for “other irregularities.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking to CNBC, dropped a pointed remark: “I think what we need to do is evaluate the entire institution of the Federal Reserve and whether it’s been successful…” Wall Street fired back a clear message to Trump: drop any thoughts of ousting Powell, who still has 10 months left in his term. A middle-ground solution being floated is appointing a “shadow” Fed chair — that is, publicly naming a potential successor now, who would “prepare” and also “oversee” Powell’s decisions. Dollar interest rates currently range from 4.25% to 4.5%, while the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond stands at 4.37%, compared to just 2.6% for the German equivalent. Possible successors to Powell, should the U.S. President decide on an early dismissal, include Kevin Warsh — a former Fed governor and close associate of ex-Fed Chair Ben Bernanke during the 2008 financial crisis — and Kevin Hassett, former head of the National Economic Council. Other names thrown around include economist Art Laffer and even… TV personality Larry Kudlow. Under the Federal Reserve Act, the Fed Chair can only be removed “for cause” — and it better be a serious one.

The New “Tunnel Economy” Is Born

• It’s a new method for delivering goods — from coffee and sandwiches to clothes and tools — at low cost and lightning speed. Pipedream Labs, a company based in Austin, Texas, has announced it’s building an underground “object pipe network,” through which autonomous robots will zoom at 160 km/h (!) to deliver your order — in under 15 minutes — for less than 50 cents. Pipedream Labs is a hyperlogistics company. It constructs underground tunnel systems inhabited by autonomous delivery robots and has already built its first Rapid Fulfillment Center (RFC) in Austin. The RFC is a warehouse tailored to Pipedream’s systems, enabling blistering-fast picking and packing of parcels and goods. Initially, this warehouse will be linked to four “gates” — unmanned pickup kiosks outside the RFC. That’s where items pop up from the underground delivery pipes. In phase one, the company is laying down a 65-kilometer pipe network with 100 gates capable of delivering everything from burgers to toilet paper — anything Austin residents want at their doorstep. Alongside Elon Musk’s dream of car tunnels, here comes Pipedream with tunnels for your takeout. The tunnel economy is rising.