The Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors spoke about the Greek economy and the fifth banking pillar. and CEO of INTRAKAT, Alexandros Exarchou, at the 3rd Maritime Transport Economic Conference on the theme “Productive Greece in the next decade”.
“We also heard from the governor of the Bank of Greece. I think that after this Greece is improving”, Mr. Exarchou initially highlighted.
“The recovery of the Greek economy has indeed been achieved. We have achieved and celebrated things that were previously taken for granted, such as investment grade. It is certainly a big step towards recovering investment grade, but it doesn’t mean much if it doesn’t also reflect investment in the real economy”, he added.
“A few months ago I said that giving victory traits to a rescue is not necessarily the wisest thing to do. It still needs a lot of work. From my own experience, I did not see a response from external markets – as I at least expected – when investment grade was recovered. There is still a lot of caution on the part of foreign investors,” said Exarchou.
He emphasized the need for the production model, saying that “in fact, this must be done. I believe this will create the economic conditions that will allow its sustainable development in the future. And I think that if a model of change in productivity, to export, to produce something that will be exported, is supported, this will in fact create the basis for a permanent improvement in the Greek economy.”
“The creation of the fifth banking pillar, that is, a new healthy bank – whether it is the fifth, sixth or seventh for us is completely irrelevant – what did it matter? To completely clean up Pancreatia and Attica. But not just to clean up it, but also to establish the conditions so that it can have a sustainable relationship with the Greek economy”, noted Exarchou.
“This new bank was a surprise. I believe it will contribute to the competitiveness of the Greek economy. It will provide solutions to people who until now have had difficulty obtaining financing”, he highlighted.