The Board of Directors of the Hellenic Bank Association (HBA), at its meeting of October 31, 2025, unanimously elected Mr. Georgios Zanias, Chairman of the Board of Eurobank and emeritus professor at AUEB, as its new President, and Mr. Christos Megalou, CEO of Piraeus Bank, as Vice President.

The Members of the Board and the acting General Director of HBA warmly thanked the emeritus professor of the University of Piraeus and Chairman of the Board of the National Bank, Mr. Gikas Hardouvelis for:

• his substantial representation of HBA at important events in the financial sector, through presentations and crucial public statements/speeches on the current state of the Greek banking system.
• strengthening HBA’s extroversion and communication strategy and the constructive dialogue with the State.
• the excellent cooperation with all members of the Board of Directors, the Executive Committee and the General Directorate of the HBA, as well as for the considerable time he devoted to HBA business.

They also thanked the Vice President Mr. Fokion Karavias for his extremely significant contribution to the work of the HBA, his excellent cooperation with the Chairman of the Board and all its members, and his essential contribution to the modernization of HBA’s work and public image.

The new President, Mr. Georgios Zanias, stated, among other things:

“I thank the Members of the Board of Directors for their trust. I am pleased to return to the Association for a second time as President, succeeding my distinguished colleague, Mr. Gikas Hardouvelis. In my first term as Chairman (2012–2015) the Greek banking sector was being tested in all of its fundamental indicators due to the fiscal crisis. Later, as a Board member of HBA (2019–2022) I had the pleasure to witness the restart of the recovery of the Greek economy and the Banks. Today, the sign is positive and hopeful. Nevertheless, the challenges at global level remain, and are many. HBA’s work has been significantly upgraded in recent years, the Association is following developments and monitors current affairs at both national and EU level. I undertake for a second time the familiar role of President of the Board in a now different economic and digital environment and I commit to contribute to the further upgrade of HBA’s work.”