Fimbank

During the past three years, we have grown used to Greece featuring in the international news headlines in connection with the sovereign debt crisis, and the effects of the implementation of a bail-out programme set by the EU and the IMF. Greece’s outlook has been fraught with uncertainty, and the Greek economy has been suffering. Greek banks, strongly affected by the sovereign debt crisis, saw their capital shrinking from the Greek Bonds write-offs, as well as their liquidity squeezing. Some light began to be seen at the end of the tunnel towards the end of 2014, when, as a result of tough austerity measures, the Greek government was in a position to announce a budget surplus and slightly positive GDP growth following four years of contraction. There had also been signs of increase in domestic demand and consumption. At the time, it had been estimated that in 2016, growth would gain momentum and unemployment would decline somewhat, as exports and investment would recover.

However, last January, a new government came to power with the aim of re-negotiating terms with creditors. Now, after quite a difficult five-month period of negotiations and with the economy moving slightly towards a recession, the new government has finally reached an agreement with the EU and the IMF on a new three-year debt financing programme. This is expected to gradually bring things back to normal.

The long-standing process to reach an agreement with its creditors left its mark on Greek businesses, apart from the effects it also had on the Greek banking sector, with the capital controls imposed at the end of June. However, during the last five years of turbulence, and despite the problems arising from such an environment, a number of Greek businesses have managed to ride the crisis and emerge stronger. These were mainly export-oriented companies or companies with low leverage.

During these years, Factoring has proven to be a resilient financing tool for businesses, assisting companies to finance and develop their business. Notwithstanding the enduring financial crisis, characterised by a lack of liquidity and the undercapitalization of the whole banking system, the Greek factoring market has managed to perform satisfactorily. Although it remains a niche product, Factoring remains a healthy and remunerative financial tool, showing a stable penetration rate (c.7% of GDP, reaching €13 bln.). The moderate turndown in the utilisation of factoring during 2014, when compared to the previous year, can be justified mainly by the scarce liquidity available, rather than by a lower demand of a market which offers good opportunities for cross-border business as well as within the domestic market.

FIMBank’s Hellenic Branch was established in 2014 with the objective of tapping the potential for cherry-picking business and to provide alternative financing solutions within the Greek market, in order to bridge current limitations being faced by businesses. The Branch engages in the purchase, management, risk coverage and collection of trade receivables. Although the scope of the business encompasses the entire spectrum of trade transactions, it focuses primarily on export-oriented business, facilitated mainly through factoring. It is worth pointing out that most of these transactions are ‘without-recourse’, but the risk is covered either by correspondent factors or by other credit mitigants, which has been strongly supporting the Branch’s business by offering credit coverage to both domestic as well as foreign counterparties.

The Branch offers local clients the financing of their purchases from suppliers. It also combines other Bank products, offering solutions for financing stock, and facilitating business by issuing or receiving Letters of Credit. Furthermore, the Hellenic Branch has also been liaising with FIMBank’s Dubai office in order to promote the pre-demo shipping finance product.

From a strategic perspective, the goal of the Branch is to gain entry into crisis-resilient sectors, focusing on industries related to exports and imports, as well as on large international corporations in the domestic market. It also aims to provide increased flexibility and liquidity in a market that values highly such traits, while maintaining an appropriate risk profile, adding value to and creating synergies with FIMBank’s global network.

The Branch has a local team of five professionals with extensive factoring experience, boasting a highly successful track record going back between 15 and 20 years. The team is headed by Demetris Zouzoukis, who has been managing factoring operations for more than 14 years, including at Eurobank Factors S.A. (a member of the Eurobank Group) and Marfin Factors and Forfaiters S.A. (a member of Laiki Bank Group), where he served as Deputy General Manager and as a member of the Board of Directors.

The team also includes George Goumassis, a senior professional with 18 years’ experience in the international factoring market, having occupied the post of International Factoring Manager in two successful factoring companies. George heads the Business Development department of the Branch. Michael Michaelides, on the other hand, who has twelve years’ experience in credit appraisal and credit control in the factoring industry, is the Head of Risk and MLRO. Kostas Georgakopoulos, with twelve years in managing factoring relationships and collections, is the Head of Operations. Assisting Kostas in Operations is Maria Stefanidou, who has 15 years’ experience in factoring and managing client relationships and operations.

Hellenic Branch Greece