OPINION

Greek banks must be allowed foreign presence

It is a well-accepted fact that Greek banks are suffering today because they fell victim to the bankruptcy of the country and not through any fault of their own.

In the days when business was booming, moreover, the country’s credit institutions behaved with complete professionalism. Their high standards and their success are attested to by their rapid expansion into the broader Balkan region and other neighboring countries.

It would be a real shame if the presence of Greek banks in the Balkans and elsewhere were to be put in jeopardy now because of pressure put on the lenders by Greece’s troika of international creditors who are urging them to sell their subsidiaries in order to increase their revenues.

The troika of the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund need to show a little bit more patience because Greek banks will only be able to recover from the blow they have been dealt by being able to do business beyond the confines of the country’s borders.

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