financial stability and avoiding disruptions of the transmission mechanism in times of stress. the aforementioned monetary policy measures were reflected in the evolution of the bank of greece balance sheet. regular monetary policy and ela refinancing and, more recently, its holdings of assets in the context of the eapp ( expanded asset purchase programme ) have accounted for the bulk of the increase in the bank of greece balance sheet. it should be noted that the bank of greece purchases securities from supranational organisations in the context of the pspp and securities of other euro area countries in the context of the cbpp3 according to its capital key. based on the latest figures ( august 2017 ), the securities held for monetary policy purposes by the bank of greece amount to around €55 bn. in july this year, the balance sheet was four times its pre - crisis level, after having grown almost fivefold in february 2012 and again in june 2015 following the two episodes of strong volatility in markets. part iii : recent economic developments in greece and the potential impact of monetary policy normalisation iii. 1 greek economy : recent developments and prospects confidence about greece ’ s economic prospects in general, and about the greek banks in particular, has been gradually restored. this is reflected in the following : successful return of the sovereign to the markets with the issuance of a new 5 - year government bond. a sharp decline in the greek government bond yields and their spread versus core countries ’ bonds, while the slope of the greek government bonds yield curve turned positive and became steeper, implying improved investor perceptions for the outlook of the greek economy — in line with the assessment of the rating agency fitch which upgraded the rating of greece — as well as a repricing of risks. improvement in the liquidity conditions of greek banks, as banks have improved their access 6 / 9 bis central bankers'speeches to the interbank market, while deposits show signs of improvement. this is illustrated by banks ’ declining recourse to central bank funding ( including to ela ) in the past two years. improved bank profitability and comfortable capital adequacy ratios. lower bank lending rates for firms, and slower deleveraging of banks ’ loan portfolios. improved external financing conditions, as bank credit to non - financial corporations ( nfcs ) has stopped declining since early 2016 and market financing of nfcs has increased. these are positive signs that greek companies are gradually getting access to market financing. this can substitute for part of the

the currency reform, would proceed at a gradual pace, ensuring the stability, safety and soundness of the chinese financial system. 4 ) from the perspective of the theory of international finance, the realisation of currency internationalisation hinges on two parameters, namely ( i ) free convertibility of the currency ; and ( ii ) use of the currency in international trade and financial transactions. the first parameter falls into the scope of a country ’ s monetary and exchange rate policies while the second is directly related to a country ’ s share in international trade and financial activities. in july 2009, the pboc and relevant ministries of the state council jointly promulgated the “ management of cross - border rmb trade settlement pilot bis central bankers ’ speeches programme ”, which was a pivotal step of the endeavour of the government to promote the internationalization of the rmb. with the incessant expansion of the pilot units, virtually all mainland enterprises which are qualified to import and export can have a free hand in using the rmb to settle all transactions with their trade partners globally. an update of the rmb business in the macao special administrative region ( msar ) 5 ) with the rapid development of the economy, there is an accelerated economic integration between the mainland and macao. as a result, rmb business develops quickly in macao. at the moment, rmb deposits in macao accounts for about 10 % of the deposits in the banking system. there is a marked progress in the rmb cross - border trade settlement despite a slow start. cross - border trade settlement transacted in 2011 increased substantially by 10 times from 2010 and the volume in 2012 continued to record an increase of over 60 %. in the first quarter this year, the substantial growth continued ; the volume of cross - border trade settlement rose by almost 80 % and already reached 40 % that of last year. 6 ) the monetary authority of macao, in the course of managing the fiscal reserve of the government, has invested in the onshore market through the cibm quota ( i. e. china interbank bond market quota ) granted by the people ’ s bank of china. we also invest in the rmb offshore market in hong kong as a supplement to the onshore rmb portfolio. from a more global perspective and looking ahead, along with an increasing weight in the rmb in global trade settlement and a rising investment interests from abroad, the internationalization path of the currency would lead to more market opportunities, both for