’ s systemic banks and the eib group under the european guarantee fund ( egf ). under the egf program, a total of 2. 7 bn euros of guarantees provided to greek banks will help companies across the country with sustainable business plans to recover from covid - related challenges. the agreement includes also the first ever eib intermediated operations to strengthen access to finance by large corporates, broadening the eib ’ s support for the real economy in the country. challenges remain, both in the short and the long run. of immediate relevance is to maintain credit provision to the real economy, restore fiscal sustainability as the economy rebounds and to further reduce the high stock of non - performing loans. in the medium to long run, the main 2 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches challenges are to close the large investment gap, accelerate the pace of the privatisation and reforms programme, continue to improve the management of state assets, attract foreign direct investment, promote innovation, education and knowledge - based capital and make the digital and green transformation a success. a particular challenge is to create new banking products in order to provide credit to viable small and medium sized enterprises which, for various reasons, have difficulties in accessing bank credit. with responsible fiscal policies and commitment to implementing reforms, the greek economy can ensure sustainable long - term growth. and we are happy that eib will be our partner in that effort. 3 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches

potential output ten years from now will be close to 2 %. but over the coming years, the greek economy is expected to grow at rates higher than potential for a number of reasons. first, private sector savings ( including net capital transfers ) are unusually high, averaging around 15 % of gdp in 2021 from 6 % of gdp on average in the five years before the covid - 19 pandemic. this is the result of higher precautionary savings, a postponement of consumer and other spending, state aid and moratoria on loan / tax obligations. the high savings are reflected in the increase in private sector deposits by 34 billion euros – i. e. 20 % of gdp – from march 2020. the gradual de - escalation of the high savings rate will boost domestic demand and especially private consumption. second, greece will receive approximately € 30. 5 billion from the resilience and recovery fund. ngeu funds are targeted at growth - enhancing high value - added projects in the areas of energy saving, the transition to green energy, the digital transformation of the public and the private sector, employment, social cohesion, and private investment and will be disbursed upon conditionality. channeling these resources to sustainable investment projects will boost real gdp by 7 % by 2026 and will contribute to the increase of employment, private investment, 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches exports and tax revenue. at the same time, greece will receive 40 billion euros from the structural funds over the coming years and also increased foreign direct and indirect investment is expected to be attracted. it is also noted that, in the medium term, the prospects for high growth rates arise not only from the expected investments but, more importantly, from the increase in productivity that will be caused by the reforms envisaged in the national recovery and sustainability plan “ greece 2. 0 ” – market liberalization, privatizations and increased investment in education – as well as the digital and green transition. third, the increased ability of the banking system to contribute to the financing of viable investment projects. the stock of deposits in the greek banking system is currently around 176 billion euros, i. e. at the level of september 2011. moreover, during the past few years, the financial fundamentals of greek banks improved significantly. compared to march 2016, the stock of non - performing loans was reduced by more than 50 %, mostly through securitizations with the use of the hellenic asset protection scheme.