Italy 
Portugal 
Spain 
Piraeus Bank to reduce its NPEs by €5 bn in 2019
According to the bank’s CEO, Christos Megalou, the NPE reduction target by 2021 is 15 bn Euros. “It’s an optimistic target but it’s doable. We can achieve it and at the same time finance the Greek Economy”.
During a workshop in Thessaloniki, the second biggest city in Greece, Mr. Megalou and the Chairman of Piraeus Bank’s Board, George Chatzinikolaou, announced the bank’s targets. The workshop was attended by 40 bank executives and 150 clients of the bank in Northern Greece.
“In the last few years, Greece has made great progress. This progress can be seen in the economy as well as in the banking system. There is more confidence now and we see an increase in deposits. The banks are financing the private economy. We can also see a great interest in the Greek economy by foreign investors and this also reflected in the increase in the shares of the banks”, Mr Chatzinikolaou stated.
According to the bank’s CEO, the NPL reduction process is still ongoing and will remain this way at least for another 2 years. The bank has reduced its operating costs and has started to grant loans again. “The ratio of loans to deposits in Piraeus Bank is 85% and this enables us to grant loans and finance SMEs, unsecured loans and even mortgages”, Mr Megalou said.