Bank of Greece to decide on banks' capital end of February

Greece's central bank will review a study by BlackRock Solutions on the loan books of Greek lenders and determine what additional capital they will need by the end of next month, a Bank of Greece official said on Sunday.
Greek banks are trying to cope with rising credit impairments and a shrinking deposit base as the austerity-hit country struggles through its fifth straight year of economic contraction.
Banks are expected to have to recapitalise after writedowns resulting from a planned bond swap which calls for a 50 percent nominal writedown on their Greek government bond holdings and provisioning for non-performing loans.
"The study was handed to us on Friday. Its findings on the extra provisions for credit risk Greek banks will need to take will be assessed and announced by end-February," the official who did not want to be named told Reuters.