to reduce the stock of their npes, and the rise in a number of leading indicators of economic activity and confidence. on 20 september the ela ceiling for greek banks stood at €33. 6 billion, compared with €50. 7 billion at end - 2016 and €90 billion in june 2015. deposits by the non - financial private sector increased by €1. 4 billion to €119. 4 billion in august 2017. in particular, from end - may 2016, when the first review of the programme was completed, until august 2017, deposits by non - financial corporations and households increased by 5. 3 % or €7. 3 billion, while total deposits gained about €11 billion. the economic sentiment indicator rose to 100. 6 in september, from 99. 0 in august, also amid strong consumer confidence, which recorded a two - year peak. the manufacturing pmi suggests expansion for the third month in a row, and came to 52. 2 in august, from 50. 5 in july, reaching its highest level since august 2008. in the same vein, since the beginning of this year there has been progress with the issue of banks ’ problem loans. more specifically, on the basis of june 2017 data, the stock of nonperforming exposures ( npes ), including off - balance sheet items, decreased by 3. 2 %, compared with end - december 2016, coming to €102. 9 billion or 44. 9 % of total exposures. the npe reduction was mainly driven by extensive loan write - offs and to a much lesser extent by collections, liquidations and sales of loans. loan write - offs amounted to €3. 3 billion in the first half of 2017. lastly, significant headway has also been achieved in the area of reforms despite several delays. according to a recent report by the lisbon council ( europlus monitor, september 2017 update ), greece continues to rank first in the eu - 28 in terms of the adjustment progress indicator. greece ’ s high score in this area is mainly attributable to its adjustment efforts in 2010 – 2013, but also to the fact that since mid - 2015 there has been a reversal in the negative course that had started in late 2014 and peaked in summer 2015 amid heightened uncertainty and strong confrontation with the institutions, thereby weakening the country ’ s position. 3. positive prospects for 2017 – 2019 in the light of the data i mentioned briefly, it is now safe to predict that economic activity

2. the greek economy on a growth track the greek economy is currently on a growth track. this was made possible thanks to the completion of the second review and its positive effect mainly on confidence and liquidity. the fact that the economy ’ s growth dynamics has gained traction is primarily reflected in the positive path of gdp as well as in the improvement of short - term indicators : real gdp grew y - o - y by 0. 4 % in the first quarter and by 0. 8 % in the second quarter of 2017. overall, in the first half of 2017 real gdp increased by 0. 6 %, year - on - year. real gdp growth in the second quarter was mainly driven by an increase of 9. 5 % y - o - y in exports of goods and services, as well as by a rise in public ( 3. 3 % ) and private consumption ( 0. 7 % ), whereas gross fixed capital formation had a negative contribution, largely on account of delays in public investment programme disbursements. industrial production increased y - o - y by 1. 7 % in july 2017 for the tenth consecutive month. overall, between january and july 2017 industrial production increased by 5. 3 % relative to 1 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches the corresponding period of 2016. the volume of retail sales in the first half of 2017 rose by 2. 4 %, year - on - year. the positive momentum of the economy is also mirrored in the labour market, which has been showing signs of improvement since mid - 2014, on the back of structural reforms which allowed for a shift towards more flexible forms of employment. in more detail, employment rose y - o - y by 2. 4 % in the second quarter of the year, while the unemployment rate stood at 21. 2 % in june 2017, down from 23. 5 % one year earlier. the improved economic outlook and the completion of the second review contributed to a decline in greek government bond yields to their end - 2009 levels, thereby facilitating greece ’ s return to international markets on 25 july. at the same time, the yields of corporate bonds issued by the non - financial sector declined considerably as well. furthermore, fitch upgraded greece ’ s credit rating, citing sustained recovery and reduced political risk. other key developments that should be pointed out are : the successive reductions in the emergency liquidity assistance ( ela ) ceiling for greek banks, the increase in deposits, the attainment of the operational targets set so far for banks