The Hellenic Bank Association (HBA) represented by the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mr. Nikolaos Karamouzis, the Chairman of the Executive Committee, Mr. Spyridon Papaspyrou and the Secretary General, Ms. Charikleia Apalagaki met today in Luxembourg with the President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), Mr. Werner Hoyer, the Vice President responsible for Greece, Mr Jonathan Taylor and executive staff of the EIB.

The HBA provided a brief update in relation to the current state of play of the Greek Banking System and the improvement of its 2016 key financial indicators. The substantial support provided by the EIB through the Greek credit institutions to the Greek economy (mainly towards medium-sized enterprises as well as the financing of infrastructure projects) was thoroughly discussed. These key findings were also recently highlighted by Mr. Hoyer during his speech at Delphi Economic Forum.

Furthermore, concrete reference was made to the current EIB programmes in Greece, with total amount of signatures exceeding 1.5 billion euros in 2016, the full absorption of which is expected to be completed in 2017, as well as the anticipated full deployment of the InnovFin and COSME financial instruments implemented by the European Investment Fund (EIF), which will bolster the liquidity and creditworthiness of Greek SMEs. Furthermore, the Equifund equity programme run by EIF, will significantly strengthen the equity base of selected fast growing and innovative SMEs. Taking into account the liquidity crunch in the Greek economy, the role of the EIB and the EIF is deemed crucial for the relaunch of the domestic economy.

Both parties expressed their satisfaction with the hitherto impeccable cooperation, in particular after the establishment of the Investment Team for Greece, and reaffirmed their mutual desire for the improvement and expansion of their cooperation through the development of new initiatives that contribute to stimulating economic activity and financing of SMEs and investment business projects.