"If Europe does not find any solutions, we are lost"

The current status and relevance of decisions expected from the European side, were captured in a dramatic statement today by the President of the Republic, during his meeting with the President of the Bank of Greece. “If Europe does not find solutions… we are lost”, stated Karolos Papoulias, referring to decisions about to be taken in Brussels. Mr. Provopoulos answered that “Greece has its own problems, and our problems need to be solved by us as Greeks”.

Mr. Provopoulos characteristically stated that we should not seek a  “deus ex machina” in order to find the solution to our problems, “which should be here and not in Brussels”. Mr. Provopoulos  even predicted that 2011 will be a year of mergers and alliances for Greek banks and added that he is neither optimistic nor pessimistic about the outcome of the European negotiations.

When asked by the President about the future of Geek banks, Mr. Provopoulos pointed out that banks find themselves “in a very critical juncture due to the financial crisis” and predicted that this year will be rife with mergers and partnerships in the banking sector.

“Why do they procrastinate?”, asked Mr. Papoulias, and Mr Provopoulos replied: “This is also my criticism, but I do not believe that they will delay for long. These developments are such that they will lead them to partnerships.