Greece needs to improve corporate governance, Bank Association chief Karamouzis says
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Greece needs to improve its corporate governance, Nikolaos Karamouzis, president of Hellenic Bank Association and chairman of Eurobank, said on Monday.
Addressing a conference organised by the Technical Chamber of Greece, Karamouzis said: “Lately, we have witnessed events that do no honour to Greek entrepreneurship. Unfortunately, as is often the case, one negative incident overshadows several other bright efforts. There are several such phenomena in global business history. But in a country with a credibility problem, such as Greece, private business credibility plays a crucial role in creating a positive investment climate.”
“A basic criterion for attracting investment interest, financing and accessing international capital markets, is the fundamental and not just superficial adoption of a modern framework of corporate governance. No one will invest or lend money to anyone unless that person is convinced that his or her interests are adequately protected,” Karamouzis noted, adding that “in my opinion, stricter legislation is necessary and banks should contribute with initiatives in this direction.”
Referring to the Greek economy, Karamouzis said that now, more than ever, the country needed to implement significant reforms to the state, the economy, institutions and markets. “Primarily, [this means] drafting and implementing an investment-friendly policy for growth that we desperately need, in an uncertain, international and European environment,” he noted. Karamouzis said Greece needed a new productive, developmental and social model of economic operation, one that was dynamic and competitive and will create growth, jobs, wealth and prospects. He underlined that Greece needed significant reforms in taxation, which stopped over-taxation and excessive social insurance contributions from draining the Greek economy.
Referring on the Greek banking system, he said it needed to convincingly resolve the significant issue with NPEs and dispel market uncertainties over the strength of the banking system, in order to have lower interest rates, higher liquidity and uninterrupted financing of the economy.
Source: AMNA