IFC to invest up to 300 mln euros in Greek banks

Addressing an event in Athens, Tsitsiragos said that the IFC has also proposed to offer technical assistance to deal with the non-performing loans problem and improving the implementation of a regulatory framework, along with funding the purchase of Greek banks’ non-performing loan portfolios by international funds, if this choice was opted.

"We have approval from our board to take part and invest up to 300 million euros in the bank recap," said IFC Vice-President Dimitris Tsitsiragos. "The main goal is to re-establish confidence and trust about investing in Greece." He noted that a bank recapitalization plan was directly linked with resolving the NPLs problem and offering liquidity to the economy. “Things for the Greek economy looked better now compared with June, mostly because of the good performance of tourism. If reforms are voted and implemented, the economy will return to growth course in 2016 while implementation of reforms and completion of a recapitalization of banks will send an international message of confidence for the Greek economy,” the IFC vice-president said.

The IFC resumes activities in Greece following a request made by the previous government in 2014 and confirmed by the current government. Priority is given to infrastructures, logistics, agricultural production, food processing, IT and e-commerce. Tsitsiragos noted that the IFC’s investment in Greece will act as a catalyst to attracting investors.