International Monetary Fund published its Report on the results of the Greece's Financial Sector Assessment
28/05/2026 - Press Releases
- The Bank of Greece welcomes the results of the IMF's assessment, which recognise the significant progress achieved in the banking sector and the high quality of supervision of the Bank of Greece.
The International Monetary Fund published its Report on the results of the Greece's Financial Sector Assessment. At the same time, the IMF Report on Article IV was published.
The Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP), established in 1999, is an in-depth assessment of a country's financial sector by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). FSAPs are conducted by the IMF with a focus on assessing the resilience of the financial sector, the quality of the regulatory and supervisory framework, and the ability to manage and resolve financial crises. The current assessment for Greece is the first since 2006.
The evaluation took place between September 2025 and the end of January 2026 with meetings of the IMF team with the Management and executives of the Bank of Greece, the Ministry of National Economy and Finance, the Deposit and Investment Guarantee Fund and the Hellenic Capital Market Commission.
The main conclusions of the evaluation can be summarised as follows:
1. Short-term risks to financial stability are limited and, despite the crisis in the Middle East, remain manageable.
2. Significant Credit Institutions are well capitalised, highly liquid and resilient to crisis stress scenarios.
3. The Bank of Greece enjoys strong independence and applies high standards of supervision, while the authorities have learned from previous crises and are well prepared for future shocks.
4. The Bank of Greece's approach to the supervision of Less Significant Institutions (LSIs) is thorough, systematic and intrusive.
5. The Bank of Greece has taken a proactive approach to systemic risk and macroprudential issues.
The key recommendations to the Bank of Greece as the competent micro- and macro-prudential authority, as well as the resolution authority, are:
a. strengthening the monitoring of large exposures in the context of systemic risk assessment;
b. strengthening of the governance of the LSIs (in particular in terms of the number of independent members of the Board of Directors for the largest and highest risk LSIs),
c. strengthening of the supervision of credit servicers, regarding the effectiveness of managing distressed credit, as well as the adoption of transparency obligations;
d. preparing for the possible application of a combination of resolution tools and ensuring readiness for the implementation of resolution measures in LSIs;
e. strengthening the use of quantitative methodologies for the countercyclical capital buffer, as well as the creation of internal stress scenarios for macroprudential purposes.
The Bank of Greece welcomes the results of the IMF's assessment, which recognise the significant progress achieved in the banking sector and the high quality of supervision of the Bank of Greece. The Bank of Greece will take the necessary measures to implement the recommendations within the deadlines set.