The Annual General Assembly Meeting of the Hellenic Bank Association was held on 11th June 2020 as a digital event, with the participation of Board of Directors’ members, as well as representatives from HBA member-banks and the General Secretariat. The Chairman of the HBA Board of Directors Mr. G. Handjinicolaou, in his speech referred to the extremely good conditions, under which, the Greek Banking System operated in 2019, a year during which:

• Effective management of NPLs and improvement of the quality of banks' assets has been achieved
• Banks’ liquidity has been strengthened (return of deposits, etc.)
• Banks’ profitability has been maintained and expanded
• Capital controls have been completely lifted

As he characteristically quoted "undoubtedly 2019 has been a year of stabilization of the Greek banking system".

However, at the same time, the Chairman of the HBA stressed out that, under the current health crisis, and despite the immediate and timely interventions of the Government, as well as the European Institutions and Supervisory Authorities, new challenges and needs are being created for banks, both in Greece and worldwide.

"Immediate, full and effective financing and support of the real economy is the highest priority of our members."

Finally, referring to HBA’s rich activity for 2019, he particularly praised the valuable contribution of two experienced high-level banking executives, Mr. G. Aronis and Mr. Th. Kalantonis, who, as Chairmen of the Executive Committee and the Steering Committee for the NPLs Management respectively, coordinated the work of the committees with particularly positive results and leave a valuable legacy. The Chairmanship of the Executive Committee is now taken over by another distinguished executive, the Deputy CEO of Eurobank, Mr. Stavros Ioannou.