Greek post-2008 bank-rescue fund moves to sell stakes

With little fanfare last week a draft law outlining some technical measures was passed through Greece’s Parliament, but if you look under the surface you’ll see that the paper marks an important moment in our economic history.

After 2008 and the economic crises that followed, Greece’s government, like those around the world, took unprecedented measures to stabilise its financial and banking system. For us it saw the creation of the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF), set up as an independent entity to rescue and restructure the banking system.

HFSF’s stake in two banks is small (Alpha Bank 9%, Eurobank 1.40%), but in two others it is substantial (National Bank of Greece 40.39%, Piraeus Bank 27%). It is the majority shareholder in Attica Bank (62.93%).

Just as in the UK, Germany, and France, these stakes came to represent the urgent action needed to ensure stability post-2008. In Greece, the journey we have taken since then – through hardship and adversity – is one that in many ways has now left our economy more resilient. Likewise, our banking sector is in much better shape with the ratio of non-performing loans now standing at 12.1%, down from an all-time high of 49.1% in June 2017.

Now, just as in other European countries, the divestment of these stakes that last week’s draft law maps out, also means something. It shows that the time for that intervention has passed, and the economic stabilisers which that time required are being dismantled. This is also born out by expectations that the EU will soon confirm Greece’s exit from its enhanced surveillance framework.

The fading of these economic stabilisers is an important milestone in a chapter of Greek economic history that started in 2008. They have left an economy that is not only standing on its own feet, but delivering GDP growth, increasing exports, and more opportunities for investment. A new chapter marked out by an environment in which business can thrive is now being written.