The need to accelerate banking integration processes at EU level was the focus of a panel at the 28th Annual Economist Government Roundtable, with emphasis on the strong position of the banking sector in Europe and Greece.

In her intervention, Elizabeth McCaul, member of the Supervisory Board of the European Central Bank (ECB), pointed out that the banking sector has managed to maintain its resilience despite the new challenges at the international and European level, which is very important and noteworthy. The issue is that the resilience of the banking sector is to be maintained in the future despite any challenges in order to ensure its profitability and fundamentals for the benefit of all, he added.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Bank of Greece and Chairman of the Hellenic Bankers Association, Professor Gikas Hardouvelis, pointed out that banks in Greece have turned a new page, citing as a prime example the large reduction in non-performing loans to below 6%. The effort continues as the average NPLs at EU level is 1.8%, he said. The chairman of the National Bank of Greece, Mr. Hardouvelis, also referred to the strong capital base of Greek banks, the liquidity they have to finance the economy, and the fact that Greek banks did extremely well in the recent ECB stress tests.

Mr. Hardouvelis also noted that Greek banks are starting to pay dividends after 16 years, which confirms their return to normality, estimating that the positive outlook in the banking sector will continue as it is in line with the outlook for the Greek economy. Challenges exist, including digital transformation, but Greek banks are responding successfully, he said.

Nicolas Véron, senior fellow at Bruegel and at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, DC, said in his intervention, referring to banking integration, that it is a broad project and we have not yet reached that point. In addition to consolidation, a single regulatory framework for times of crisis is needed, he said, stressing that consolidation is in everyone's interest.