Commissioners roll up their sleeves for Greek banks

The commissioners that will oversee the implementation of the restructuring plans for Greek banks were selected based on very strict criteria, confirms finmin Yannis Stournaras in a letter sent to the Greek parliament on 27 February, following New Democracy MP Nikitas Kaklamanis’ question on “the procedures concerning the placement of commissioners in Greek banks with a mandate to monitor the decisions made by the administrations, including those relating to the granting of loans."

As the finance minister says, " the relevant agreements between banks and their respective commissioners, selected under very strict criteria in accordance with the relevant commitments of our country to our partners, have already been signed." The ND MP also raised the issue of the commissioners’ payment, citing a publication that says "they will be paid by Greek banks at the incredible amount of 800,000 euros per year."

Stournaras said their compensation is defined and paid by the banks in consultation with the European Commission, and amounts vary according to the size of the bank, the time spent by the commissioners’ executives, market competition and the financial bids by the candidate companies.

The finmin rushes to add that "the appointing of commissioners that will oversee the implementation of the restructuring plans agreed among the Member-States and the EU is a common practice of the European Commission under EU Competition Law».