“The Greek economy is currently faced with the great wager of sustaining high growth rates that will ensure a future of prosperity and prospects for the country and will project its competitive advantages. The main lever for such a growth effort actually lies with private entrepreneurship and initiatives, which keep proving daily that they can provide the Greek economy with the flexibility, extroversion and dynamism it needs. Certainly, a fundamental prerequisite is for private entrepreneurship to focus on quality and competitiveness for products and services it offers, capitalizing on contemporary expertise and adopting effective management forms. Moreover, another prerequisite concerns facilitation and encouragement provided through state intervention that should be positive for business growth. Enhancing our economy’s competitiveness is a challenge that concerns the Greek society overall and calls for overtaking long-established perceptions and practices in many aspects of our lives, such as those of labour relations, social security and pensions, Education and, most certainly, changing the way the public sector operates and the role it plays. Given this framework, the public sector needs to pick up its rate of reforms and go for big, radical changes. These should include, among others, cutting down on red tape and strengthening transparency in its operations, along with a legislative framework for growth and a pertinent taxation system”. The aforementioned were underlined, among others, by Eurobank EFG CEO Nicholas Nanopoulos in his addresses (June 5-6, 2007) to businesspeople and other important stakeholders in Ioannina and Corfu (Kerkyra). Mr. Nanopoulos, joined by Deputy CEO Byron Ballis along with senior executives of the Bank, visited branches in Ioannina and Corfu and held meetings with local agencies and representatives of the local communities.

Touching on economic policy in general, Eurobank EFG CEO underlined that in the first quarter of the current year there was a marked GDP increase and he then went on to furthermore remark that the decision by the European Communities to end budgetary surveillance and lift monitoring for Greece will allow for the country’s upgrade of credit ratings, thus offering greater scope for maneuvering in terms of policy-making and policy implementing for the government.

It should be noted that Eurobank EFG is active in the wider Epirus region through eight branches and two business centers while having another two branch offices in Corfu.

During the meetings that the Bank’s executives had with businesspeople, it was stressed that Eurobank EFG supports private entrepreneurship through initiatives it undertakes both in Greece and the wider region of New Europe, where the Bank will have set up a network of approximately 1,500 branches by the end of the year.