Banks’ Brexit plans still need work if they are going to be ready for the UK leaving the EU, according to a powerful member of the ECB. Sabine Lautenschlaeger, vice-chair of the board of the Single Supervisory Mechanism, said issues remain in preparations for both UK-based banks trying to access the EU and EU-based banks wanting to service clients in the UK. “My message to all affected banks is this: don’t procrastinate,” she said, speaking at a banking forum in Frankfurt. “No one will wait for you. When Brexit happens you will either be prepared, or not. I advise you to be prepared.” Source City AM
Fraport Greece reported a 71.4% annual decline in passenger traffic last year at the 14 regional airports it operates in Greece. The total number of passengers who used the airports of Thessaloniki, Corfu, Hania, Cephalonia, Zakynthos, Aktio, Kavala, Rhodes, Kos, Samos, Mytilene, Mykonos, Santorini and Skiathos reached 8,611,780, of which 5,994,180 were on international flights – a year-on-year decline of 74.2%. Source Ekathimerini
Russian oil drilling giant Gazprom Neft opened a crypto mining farm running on associated gas energy unlocking the power of Russia’s oil and gas resources for the needs of bitcoin (BTC) mining, reports Yahoo Finance. The venue for cryptocurrency mining is on one of the company’s oil drilling sites in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug in Siberia. It is using the associated gas from Gazprom Neft’s oil field as an energy source and has its own power plant to transform this gas into electricity. Source Realnoevremya
The United States’ trade deficit surged to its highest level in more than 14 years in November as businesses boosted imports to replenish inventories, offsetting a rise in exports. Source Reuters
