Greece Competition Authority proposes state-regulated savings accounts

The Greek Competition Authority has proposed the establishment of state-regulated savings accounts with guaranteed returns to enhance competition in the domestic banking sector. In its final report on the banking industry covering the period from 2019 to 2025, the Authority identified the market as a closed oligopoly. The four systemic banks, National Bank of Greece, Piraeus Bank, Eurobank, and Alpha Bank, control over 90% of all deposits.

The report notes that despite interest rate hikes by the European Central Bank, banks have not sufficiently passed these increases on to savers. To protect depositors, the Authority suggests several interventions based on international models. These include creating specific deposit products with interest rates determined by the state following recommendations from the Bank of Greece, similar to the French Livret A model.

Additional proposals include reward-based products that offer preferential rates for maintaining balances for a year, and mandatory access to interest rate comparison tools on banking websites to improve consumer mobility. Currently, 89% of surveyed citizens and businesses remain with a single systemic bank, showing low mobility in the sector.