##ergies between investments in tangible and intangible capital, and these should be fully utilized. simultaneously investing in new technologies and in digitally skilled human capital results in the largest possible increase in productivity in the long run. investments as a percentage of gdp have increased in recent years, owing to particularly strong investment activity in the three years 2021 - 2023. business investments have fully recovered to pre - 2010 levels. on the other hand, residential investment is low, but rapidly growing in response to strong demand from both domestic and foreign investors, including investors from eu countries as well as countries further afield in the context of the golden visa program. nonetheless, total investments as a percentage of gdp remain below the eu average, at 15. 2 %, compared to the eu's 22 % in 2023. 5 / 8 bis - central bankers'speeches for one, rrf funds must be received and disbursed to the private sector promptly. to date, the receipt rate of rrf funds is satisfactory ( 51 % of a total €36 billion ), and greece is among the top performers in the eu. satisfactory progress has also been made in terms of signing loan agreements. however, the disbursement of grants to the final beneficiaries is moving at a slower pace. in order to improve structural competitiveness, it is also essential to implement a broad range of ambitious reforms, aiming at addressing structural weaknesses such as delays in the delivery of justice, bureaucracy in public administration and lack of digital skills. at the same time, it is crucial to eliminate any remaining restrictive practices preventing markets from being competitive, by removing barriers to entry and opening up goods and services markets to competition. these reforms will help attract foreign direct investment, as well as facilitate the participation of greek companies in global value chains, in turn leading to the adoption of new technologies and innovative production methods that will enable greek companies to offer high - added value products and knowledge - intensive services. a healthy and competitive banking sector capable of financing businesses and households is essential. there has been a marked improvement in banking sector fundamentals over the past decade : profitability, liquidity, capital adequacy and loan portfolio quality have all improved ; new healthy and adequately capitalized banks have been created forming a fifth banking pillar, while divestment of the hellenic financial stability fund's shareholdings in the four systemic banks has been largely completed. still, the sector's resilience must be further strengthened, including through

cohort of elderly is likely to experience slower growth than one with a lower elderly share. nevertheless, future behavioral changes cannot be excluded – for example, individuals might decide to increase saving over their working - life in view of the projected increase in life expectancy. ageing societies are expected to face mounting health and pension spending pressures putting at risk public finances which, in turn, will further reduce future growth prospects. there are various policy options to address the ageing related future growth challenges. first and foremost, it is important to fully utilize the labour input by taking actions to increase the employment rate. a low employment rate implies that a significant part of the working age population is either unemployed or inactive ( outside the workforce ). for example in greece ( according to the 2015 ageing report ) the employment rate ( for the age group of 15 – 64 years old ) was 48. 7 % in 2013 on account of very high unemployment ( about 28 % for ages 15 – 64 ) and low labour force participation, in particular, for the age group 55 – 64 ( 42. 4 % ). therefore action should be taken to • first, address the very high unemployment because it can have severe long term repercussions, though the hysteresis effects, as it can induce people to drop out of the labour force. at the same time, long term unemployment leads to human capital erosion and a fall in potential growth – translating a cyclical problem into a structural one. bis central bankers ’ speeches • second, action should be taken to raise the currently low participation rate by females and older individuals. for example countries facing these challenges should adopt policies that discourage age and sex discrimination by employers, promote life - long learning and education, allow for more flexible work arrangements for older workers and women, and increase state - funded child care provisions. furthermore, policy makers should also consider increasing the statutory retirement age when this is low by international standards. alternatively, an already high statutory retirement age might have to be made binding by limiting the early retirement schemes. in addition, a life expectancy component could be build into the social security system. finally, migration policies might have to be reconsidered as a whole in europe in view of the future demographic pressures. besides the abovementioned policies aiming at better utilizing the labour input, additional policies should be put forward such as increasing infrastructure investment, facilitating business investment and adopting reforms that can permanently boost the level of potential output and its growth rate in the medium term.