Christos Megalou, CEO of Piraeus Bank, highlighted the bank’s strong support for businesses operating in the Epirus region during his speech at the conference ‘Epirus: The Roots and Future of Authenticity’, held in Ioannina. He described the bank’s commitment to regional development as a strategic priority—having extended €400 million in financing to more than 680 local enterprises across the entire Epirus region.
A Longstanding Regional Presence
Megalou emphasized Piraeus Bank’s deep-rooted historical presence in Epirus, noting that it currently operates eight branches in the region and holds approximately €2 billion in customer deposits.
Low Risk, Strong Collaboration
Beyond the scale of lending, Megalou pointed to the bank’s exceptionally low level of non-performing loans in Epirus—and underscored its collaborative approach with key regional stakeholders: the Epirus Region, local municipalities, the University of Ioannina, and the wider business community. He stressed how the university’s strong innovation capacity, combined with a growing local tech ecosystem, creates fertile ground for entrepreneurship.
Snappi: A Homegrown Digital Banking Success
A key example cited was Snappi, a neobank headquartered in Ioannina and co-developed through a partnership between Piraeus Bank and Natech, a local technology company. Snappi holds a European Central Bank license to operate as a credit institution across the Eurozone. Over the past six months, it has engaged with customers and now serves around 200,000 digital banking users and 130,000 active clients—who hold deposits, obtain loans, and conduct transactions via the platform.
Diversified Investment Opportunities
On broader investment support, Megalou noted that a resilient regional economy relies on a diversified ‘investment portfolio’. In Epirus, this includes innovation-driven ventures, gastronomy, energy projects, logistics, and new infrastructure enabled by the Ionian and Egnatia motorways. He added that Greece’s banking system today enjoys robust liquidity and is actively seeking viable investment projects to finance—underscoring that diversification reduces risk both for the region and for financial institutions.