B. Psaltis (Alpha Bank): Crises should not be seen as threats, but as opportunities for change

Vassilis Psaltis, CEO of Alpha Bank and Sotiris Nikas, Head of the Greek office of Bloomberg News, spoke at the 7th Delphi Economic Forum. The Delphi Economic Forum takes place in Delphi on April 6-9 and is under the auspices of SA. of the President of the Republic, Mrs. Katerina Sakellaropoulou.

After 10 years of crisis, 2 years of pandemic and now the war will undoubtedly affect the Greek economy. “We all need to adapt, but we should not see crises as threats, but as opportunities for change.”

Immediate effects will be the increase in borrowing costs, the decline in bank profitability, the slowdown in household purchasing power, but also the pressure on the tourism sector, as a result of household pressure in other countries.

Greece will aim to recover its investment level, when this fragile situation will subside, said Mr. Psaltis. “We came out of the pandemic crisis with the help of the banks, I do not think we will go to new red loans,” he added, adding that “new targeted aid will now be provided that the banks must take advantage of.

“The pandemic has amassed more than 36 billion deposits that could help with the current crisis,” he added. “In terms of asset quality and profitability, banks have turned the page,” Mr Psaltis said. Now that we are back to normal, it is important that banking intermediation is at the core, that there is a reduction in risk exposure. “After all, the world changed with the pandemic and we went through the period when we prevail and not the ego,” he said characteristically.

“Our goal at the bank is to be able to help our executives take initiatives for our further development,” he explained.

The working model has changed, it must now be followed by a new “culture umbrella”, where the goal is to provide the best possible banking services. The way to achieve this is to invest in the education of our customers and our executives, but also to show that we have the ability to “read the signs of the times” and create the banks of the next decade.

Source: Capital

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