The renewal of Yannis Stournaras’ term for a third time as head of the Bank of Greece was approved by majority vote by Parliament’s DEKO Committee. New Democracy MPs voted in favor of Stournaras’ reappointment, while PASOK declared “present,” though its rapporteur Paris Koukoulopoulos positively assessed his performance so far. The Communist Party also declared “present,” while SYRIZA, Greek Solution, New Left, NIKI and Course of Freedom voted “against.”
Pierrakakis on PASOK stance: Reflects the party’s political bewilderment
Minister of National Economy and Finance Kyriakos Pierrakakis commented on PASOK’s “present” vote. He characterized it as “a reflection of the party’s political bewilderment” and “not of the governor’s value.”
Responding to criticism from parties that did not support the renewal of his term at the helm of the Bank of Greece, Mr. Stournaras noted that if he were not independent, he would not be here today. “I don’t have privileged relationships with anyone, I had no sponsors, I reached here self-made. I have no dependencies. I am clean, I succeeded in a difficult period, when everything was collapsing. Let’s not forget where we were in ’15, and where we are today, Greece is considered a great success story. Absolutely a success story,” he said characteristically.
Pierrakakis on Stournaras: Never was a convenient central banker
Mr. Pierrakakis emphasized about Mr. Stournaras that he was “present” at the most critical moments of the country’s modern economic history, even at political cost. “Yannis Stournaras was never a convenient central banker, he spoke when necessary even at political cost, and this is the real content of institutional independence, their credibility,” he noted.
As he observed, with the renewal of his term, he becomes the first Bank of Greece governor with three consecutive terms. A similar time period had been served only by Xenophon Zolotas but not consecutively.
Stournaras on CrediaBank: Going better than any expectation
Asked by PASOK MP Paris Koukoulopoulos about CrediaBank, the central banker referred to the exceptionally positive course of the fifth banking pillar.
“It couldn’t go better. We took a bank that everyone thought should close and we have made it today a basic element of competition in the Greek economy. I think it’s going better than any expectation it could have gone and it offers the economy new services, new cheaper products, gaining market share,” as he said.
“No complacency allowed due to geopolitical developments”
In his opening remarks, the central banker noted that we are going through a period where risks to the global and European economy have intensified, which may moderate the growth momentum of the Greek economy for 2026, emphasizing, however, that its prospects remain positive.
“The progress is significant. However, no complacency is allowed. The Greek economy continues to face critical challenges. Persistent inflation and low productivity relative to the eurozone,” as he noted.
