Gloomy forecasts for Belgian banks

A survey published on Friday by the National Bank of Belgium found that growth expectations among the country’s banks continued to weaken in the last quarter of 2012, reports CentralBanking.com. The quarterly survey asked 11 major banks operating in Belgium to submit forecasts of economic indicators for the coming year. Banks revised down their 2013 growth forecasts for a second time, from 0.6% in September to 0.3% in December. The central bank said this was a sign that improved European financial market conditions were still “slow to get traction” in the real economy. Uncertainty over the implementation of the European Central Bank’s outright monetary transactions and painful reforms elsewhere in Europe were cited as important factors.