Election of a new president and several top executives for National Bank of Greece (NBG) was derailed this week during an unprecedented, by Greek standards, failure to agree on a new leadership for Greece’s largest credit institution – more-or-less mandated changes in line with the ESM’s directives on corporate governance.
A nomination by the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF), the primary NGB shareholder with 40.4 percent of the bank’s shares, did not receive the necessary votes by the NBG board of directors in an early morning vote, with an interim chairman (P. Sabatakakis) chosen based on his seniority on the board.
Banking circles in Athens interpreted the “snag” to a lack of previous contact and building consensus between the HFSF’s leadership and NBG’s board of directors.
Former minister Louka Katseli is set to step down from the post.
