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Alpha Bank, Greece's fourth-biggest lender by assets, said on Friday it had agreed to buy Citibank's loss-making class="mandelbrot_refrag"> retail operations in class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Greece for 2 million euros ($2.72 million), the latest deal in the sector's consolidation. Greece's debt crisis has hammered its banking industry, prompting foreign players, including Credit Agricole, Societe Generale and Portugal's Millennium bcp , to sell local units to Greek lenders in recent years.   true       Hit by a sovereign debt restructuring and rising loan impairments during a deep six-year economic slump, the industry has consolidated down to four big players after a wave of acquisitions and the winding down of non-viable banks. The fortunes of National, Piraeus, Eurobank, and Alpha, which now control more than 90 percent of the banking market, have begun to improve after two recapitalisations and regained capital market access. On Fr

Following are terms and conditions _0"> of a bond priced on Friday. Borrower Export Development Canada, Full faith and credit of Her Majesty in Right of Canada (EDC) Issue Amount $1.0 billion Maturity Date August 19, 2019   true       Coupon 1.75 pct Issue price 99.682 Reoffer price 99.682 Yield 1.815 pct Spread Flat Underlying govt bond Mid-Swaps, equivalent to 13.1 basis points Over the CT5 Payment Date June 19, 2014 Lead Manager(s) Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of America ML, BNP Paribas and Goldman Sachs International _0"> Ratings Aaa (Moody's) _1"> Listing Lux _2"> Full fees Undisclosed _3"> Denoms (K) 5 _4"> ISIN US30216BFA52 _5"> _6"> _7"> For ratings information, double click

German bonds recovered after an earlier fall on Friday, as investors shrugged off worries that a rates rise in the UK would have a knock on effect for class="mandelbrot_refrag"> euro zone government borrowing costs.   true       Bund futures, the most actively traded securities in class="mandelbrot_refrag"> euro zone bond markets, initially dropped as much as 43 ticks at Friday's open after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said UK interest rates could rise sooner than financial markets expect. However, by mid-morning, Bund futures made a full reversal, climbing to daily highs of 145.63, 37 ticks up on the day. Strategists said data confirming the euro zone's alarmingly weak inflation served as a reminder that the path of ECB policy had completely diverged from its peer across the channel. "These deflation pressures show the ECB will keep rates low for a very long time, which is the most important thing for investors," said Christ

The Brazilian central bank's IBC-Br economic activity index rose 0.12 percent in April from March in seasonally adjusted terms, the bank said on Friday. _0"> The median estimate in a Reuters survey of 19 analysts was for 0.0 percent growth. Economic activity growth in March was revised up to 0.05 percent growth from a previously reported drop of 0.11 percent, according to central bank data. The index, a gauge of activity in the class="mandelbrot_refrag"> farming , industry and services sectors, dropped a non-seasonally adjusted 2.29 percent over the same month a year ago. (Reporting by Alonso Soto Editing by W Simon)   true      

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe unveiled a plan on Friday to cut the corporate tax rate below 30 percent in stages to help pull the class="mandelbrot_refrag"> economy out of two decades of sluggish growth and deflation.   true       Investors have been scrutinising whether class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Japan can substantially lower the corporate tax rate - among the highest in the world - to spur growth in the world's third-largest class="mandelbrot_refrag"> economy . Abe also needs to strike a delicate balance between stimulating growth and reining in snowballing public debt, twice the size of its $5 trillion economy. The corporate tax cut is a major issue to be included in the government's key fiscal and economic policy outline, which will be finalised around June 27 along with a detailed "growth strategy" of structural reforms. "Japan's corporate tax rate will change into one that promotes growth," Abe t

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki should do more to put sectarian differences aside in his country. _0"> "Prime Minister Maliki and all of Iraqi leaders need to do more to put sectarian differences aside," Kerry said at a news conference with British Foreign Secretary William Hague. (Reporting by Arshad Mohammed ; editing by Stephen Addison )

The following financial services industry appointments and departures were announced on Friday. To inform us of other job changes, email to moves@thomsonreuters.com. UBS AG The Swiss bank appointed Jerry Marcus, a former Bank of America class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Merrill Lynch banker, as a vice chairman of its Americas investment bank, according to an internal memo. The bank said Marcus, who previously headed BofA's class="mandelbrot_refrag"> retail class="mandelbrot_refrag"> investment banking group, would focus on bolstering UBS's work servicing retailers when he joins in September.   true       RBC WEALTH MANAGEMENT The division of the Royal Bank of Canada said it hired a class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Morgan Stanley executive director to lead its new southern region complex in Atlanta. Christopher Anderson joined RBC on Monday after 20 years at Morgan Stanley, where he was executive director and regional busines