Press Conference/ Georgios Iakovidis Retrospective Exhibition

EFG Eurobank’s Private Banking Division will be the sole sponsor of the Georgios Iakovidis retrospective exhibition as announced today (8/11/2005) by the Bank and the National Gallery. The Greek painter’s exhibition will be inaugurated on November 14^th, 2005 by the Prime Minister Mr. Konstantinos Karamanlis and will last until  January 30^th, 2006.

EFG Eurobank’s Deputy CEO, Mr. Nikolaos Karamouzis stated that “EFG Eurobank has been consistently promoting the idea of sponsorship for many years,  as it believes that a successful business organisation should be actively involved in and contribute creatively to the community in which it operates. Our initiatives focus on four particularly critical sectors and have been warmly welcomed by Greek society as important institutions.

These sectors are:

Education: Under “The great moment for Education” programme, launched in 2003, more than 3,338 top students graduating from high school throughout Greece have won awards.

Sports: The Bank is the sponsor of the National Basketball Federation (9 national teams). This year was a great year for  Greek basketball as the men’ s national team  won the gold medal at the Eurobasket championship  while the Juniors’ National Team won the silver medal at the World championship in Argentina this summer, EFG Eurobask sponsors also the two Olympic gold medallists in sailing, Sophia Bekatorou and Emilia Tsoulfa. The sponsorships were launched in 2001.

Culture: The Bank sponsors Kamerata, the orchestra of the Athens Music Hall (exclusive sponsor since 1994), the Children’s Stage of the National Theatre (exclusive sponsor since 1999), the Foundation of the Hellenic World (a sponsor since 1998) the National Gallery and the School of Fine Arts.

Environment: In cooperation with WWF Hellas, the Bank launched last September the programme “Learn, Participate, Protect – Parnitha National Reserve”. It is worth noting that EFG Eurobank is the first bank in Greece and one of the few in Europe with an ISO 14001 certification in environmental management for all its services and products in Attica”.

Referring to the Bank’s cooperation with the National Gallery, N. Karamouzis stressed that “the ultimate objective is to bring both our Private Banking clients and the public at large closer to Greek art”. 

Private Banking at EFG Eurobank is not just effective asset management.  Through our events, we enhance all the best, creative, progressive and timeless elements in the fields of culture, education, sports and the environment.  We give emphasis to and prize lasting personal relations with our clients and core values, trust, security, confidentiality, ethics, consistency. Our aim is to stand by our clients, as trusted associates, adding value to their important decisions as well as to their daily dealings with us”.

The co-operation between EFG Eurobank Private Banking Division and the National Gallery started last year with painter Alekos Fasianos’ exhibition “Mythologies of everyday life”, which was visited by over 54,000 art lovers.

At the press conference, EFG Eurobank’s General Manager Efthymios Bouloutas referred to the Greek Private Banking market which, according to the Bank’s estimates, includes about 30,000 families with over € 400,000 for investment. Total funds under management by Private Banking specialised services represent about € 15 billion, an amount that has almost tripled in the last five years. According to E. Bouloutas, “in 2005, these funds have increased by 20% due to the fact that several Greek banks have joined this particular sector of activity and that clients have begun to realize the need for asset management. Finally, aware that high level services can also be obtained in Greece now, many clients are asking for such services.  Private Banking has been a fundamental aspect of our Bank’ s overall strategy since its establishment. Funds under management represent a total of € 5,4 billion with a 27% increase against last year’s corresponding period. Based on the data at our disposal, it appears that EFG Eurobank holds a more than 30% share of this particular market. Private Banking’s essential philosophy is that as each client is different, optimum financial result is always sought according to their individual needs, objectives and the risk they are willing to undertake”.

EFG Eurobank has introduced innovative investment products such as the EUROBANK PRIVATE SECTOR 50 mutual fund, the EUROBANK INSTITUTIONAL PORTFOLIO mutual fund, structured products based on international stock exchange indices like the Strategic Allocators, which constitute an attempt at managing a share and bond portfolio at world level. For products based on Greek shares, yields have exceeded 18%, for structured products they range between 2% - 10% and, in the case of the Euro medium-risk Strategic Allocator typical product, yields have reached an annualized 9% for the 2.5 years or so since its introduction.

In addition, Eurobank Securities is connected on live with 25 Bourses around the world providing share trading services 16 hours a day. The recent acquisition of Capital Securities in Romania and EFG Istanbul Securities in Turkey ensure access for our clients to the emerging Southeastern European markets.

Similar services are available for the world’s bond and currency markets, to which, we have effective global access, via the Treasury Department.

As a mutual funds manager, EFG Eurobank manages over € 10 billion, i.e. 33% of the Greek mutual funds market.

According to E. Bouloutas “EFG Eurobank Private Banking’s standing objective, is to become a “Trusted Financial Associate” for its clients and provide integrated services, in accordance with international standards, similar to those of reputed foreign firms. Our efforts in this direction have been recognized in 2005 with EFGEurobank being  pronounced as the best bank for Private Banking in Greece by the leading financial magazine Euromoney. ”.

The National Gallery’s Director, Art History Professor Ms. Marina Lambraki-Plaka, referred to painter Georgios Iakovidis and his work followed by the Curator of the Exhibition, Ms. Olga Mentzafou who presented the technical aspects of the artist’ s work.