The need to speed up banking integration processes at the EU level was the focus of a panel at the Economist’s 28th Annual Economist Government Roundtable, with an emphasis on the strong position that the banking sector is currently in in Europe and in 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 that exist at the international and European level, which is very important and noteworthy. The issue is the resilience of the banking sector is to be maintained in the future despite any challenges to ensure its profitability and fundamentals for the benefit of all, he added.

The chairman of the board of the National Bank and the chairman of the Hellenic Banks Association Professor Gikas Hardouvelis pointed out that the banks in Greece have changed the page, giving as a typical example the great reduction of non-performing loans to a level below 6%. The effort continues as the average of non-performing loans at the EU level is 1.8% he said. The president of the National Bank and EET, Mr. Hardouvelis, also referred to the strong capital base of the Greek banks, the liquidity they have for financing the economy, as well as the fact that in the recent ECB stress tests, the Greek banks did extremely well.

Mr. Hardouvelis also pointed out that after 16 years, Greek banks are starting to pay dividends, a fact that confirms their return to normality, estimating that the positive prospects in the banking sector will continue as they go along with the prospects of the Greek economy. Challenges exist, such as the digital transformation, but Greek banks are responding successfully, said Mr. Hardouvelis.

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