He does not consider its extension necessary Program “Hercules” Governor of the Bank of Greece Yannis Sturnarasas he mentioned in an interview at an AHIA Ventures event.

As he noted, “all four major systemically important banks reached single digits.” VLED indicators and distance from the EU average. it is expected to be covered organically or through direct sales outside the Hercules plan. He added, however, that the Greek government is responsible for making decisions.

As for the less important institutions (LSI), Mr. Sturnaras acknowledged that the NED percentage is much higher, adding that they cannot benefit from Hercules. The two largest of these LSIs, Attica Bank and Pankritia Bank, are already taking steps to significantly strengthen their capital base and be able to effectively manage their NPLs through direct sales, securitizations without government guarantees, restructurings, etc., the central bank said. banker.

Mr. Sturnaras also spoke of the need to issue multi-billion dollar bonds to cover minimum capital requirements and eligible bank liabilities in the coming years. He added that “we remain optimistic about the profitability outlook for Greek banks.”

Speaking about the goal of reaching investment grade in 2023, the head of the central bank indirectly called on the government to achieve higher budgetary results than the target. He said that “if Greece pleasantly surprises a. financial changes in 2022 and b. growth rate in 2022, while continuing with the reform agenda, I do not think that the upcoming elections will be an obstacle to getting investment grade.”