The fact that increased liquidity which was granted to Greece by the European Investment Bank is not enough in the Greek market is something recognized by the head of the EIB, Mr.Werner Hoyer.
In an interview with the “Daily” Mr. Hoyer speaks for three main reasons that lead to this situation. First and foremost the Greek bureaucracy. “We were able to fund the construction of highways for years, but the situation with contracts and concessions was devastating and it took us years to clean up the landscape and move on” he explains.
Second is an equally important reason according to Mr. Hoyer. It is the position of the four systemic banks of Greece, which act as the mediator between the EIB and SMEs. He continued by saying that, ” I accept complaints from small businesses who can not see the help of the Greek banks. In many cases I ask my colleagues to have a look and see what has gone wrong. ”
The third problem, is that there are not enough investment proposals from Greece. “The wealthy in Greece are not ambitious with Greek investments. They prefer to invest in the UK and this is a big problem, “says the head of the largest public financial institution in the world, with assets of 512 billion euro.
“Come with a good suggestion and we will finance it. We can put that expertise to work so as to develop the best investment plan. Try it! ” he said characteristically.
Mr. Werner Hoyer also mentioned the weaknesses of Greece in the areas of productivity and innovation. “Greeks have skills, if you go to a science center you will find Greek researchers who stand out in the world but sometimes they work under extremely harsh conditions. It would be very beneficial for the long-term strengthening of the Greek economy to invest there, “he notes.
Among other things, Mr. Hoyer gave credit to Mr. Samaras and Mr. Stournaras, for the fact that they managed to take decisions against the public opinion, which, as he says, ” would be impossible to happen in Germany or Denmark.”
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