National Bank of Greece approves new Growthfund board representative

The board of the National Bank of Greece (NBG) unanimously approved the appointment of Adrianos-Ifaistion Kyriazis as a non-executive director representing Growthfund at a meeting on October 21, according to minutes published in an extract certified this week. The document, certified by the bank’s general company secretary in Athens, sets out the regulatory process behind the appointment and the assessment of Kyriazis’ suitability for the position. Growthfund formally informed the NBG board on June 5, 2026, that its own board had designated Kyriazis as its new representative, with a proposed term running until the bank’s 2027 annual general meeting, when the mandates of the remaining directors are due to expire. Under the applicable Greek legislation, Growthfund can request the appointment or replacement of one representative on the NBG board regardless of its shareholding percentage. The appointment is nevertheless subject to approval by the European Central Bank’s Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), which must complete a fit-and-proper assessment before the appointment can take effect. The bank’s Corporate Governance and Nominations Committee examined Kyriazis’ suitability against criteria including his reputation, professional knowledge and experience, independence of judgement, potential conflicts of interest and ability to commit sufficient time to the role. It also assessed whether he would contribute appropriately to the board’s collective knowledge and expertise. The committee said its assessment had identified no matter that would prevent Kyriazis from being considered suitable for the position as a non-independent non-executive director. It added that he would complement the board’s collective suitability in several areas. The assessment included due diligence based on publicly available information, the Factiva database and the bank’s internal systems, alongside the relevant regulatory requirements and NBG’s internal governance policies. These included the bank’s articles of association, corporate governance code, board suitability assessment procedures, diversity policy and rules governing conflicts of interest. The committee recommended that the board approve the appointment with effect from October 21, 2026, subject to the supervisory process. The relevant fit-and-proper documentation had already been submitted to the SSM within the required timeframe, which calls for submission at least one month before the proposed appointment date. Following completion of the supervisory process, arrangements for Kyriazis’ participation in board committees will be pursued under the applicable regulatory framework and the bank’s internal governance rules. The appointment follows the transfer of the former Hellenic Financial Stability Fund’s relevant responsibilities to Growthfund under Greece’s revised framework.