In the interview (link in Greek), Werner Hoyer, the head of the largest public investment institution in the world with half a trillion euros worth of assets, stressed the willingness of the bank to invest more in Greece.
While the bank invested 1.5 billion euros in Greece in 2013 including funds directed at small and medium sized businesses, those investments are hardly felt in the wider economy. The market in Greece remains largely bereft of liquidity, a fact which Mr Hoyer noted.
However he stated that many obstacles remain, including excessive bureaucracy as well as the behavior of the 4 systemic banks who are necessarily the middlemen between the EIB and new businesses seeking investment.
“I also receive complaints from SMEs who don't see a readiness on the part of the Greek banks to help. In many instances I ask colleagues of mine to go and see what has gone wrong,” he siad.
But perhaps the most important problem, according to Mr Hoyer, was a lack of ambition and initiative on the part of the wealthy in the country. The EIB, according to its president, would be more than happy to invest in innovative business plans but not enough reach the institution.
“The wealthy in Greece are not ambitions with Greek investments. They prefer to invest in the United Kingdom and that is a big problem.” Mr Hoyer said adding, “Come with good proposals and we will fund them…we can contribute the know-how in order for your investment plan to be better developed. Try it!”
Mr Hoyer noted that the phenomenon was not isolated to Greece but was a European problem saying, “We have a lack of good proposals and ideas in Europe as a whole.”
Which leads one to speculate how much better things might be in Greece if the wealthy employed as much imagination and creativity in the creation and funding of new local enterprises as they do in protecting their incomes from taxation.