Piraeus Bank has appointed George Handjinicolaou as Chairman of its newly constituted Board of Directors following a vote at an Extraordinary General Meeting held on 5 December 2025. The formal announcement came on 11 December, with the reconstituted board carrying a three-year mandate that runs until December 2028. Christos Megalou continues in his role as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, maintaining executive continuity as the bank begins operating under its new governance configuration.
The separation of the Chairman and Chief Executive roles reflects the governance standards that European banking supervisors and institutional shareholders have increasingly expected of systemically significant financial institutions. Handjinicolaou's appointment to the chairmanship gives the new board a defined leader responsible for its internal workings, the relationship with the chief executive, and the broader stewardship of Piraeus Bank's strategic direction.
A NEW BOARD TAKES A THREE-YEAR MANDATE
The use of an Extraordinary General Meeting to reconstitute the board signals a formal governance milestone for one of Greece's four systemic banks. Extraordinary General Meetings under Greek corporate law require specific quorum and voting thresholds, distinguishing them from ordinary annual meetings and underscoring the significance of the decisions taken within them. The election of a new board and the confirmation of Handjinicolaou as chairman through this mechanism reflects the importance Piraeus Bank attaches to the legitimacy and transparency of its governance process.
Piraeus Bank has been among the Greek systemic banks that underwent the most significant balance sheet transformation during and after the country's prolonged sovereign and banking crisis of the previous decade. Its governance evolution in recent years has tracked the broader recovery of Greek banking institutions toward positions of greater financial stability, improved non-performing loan ratios, stronger capitalisation, and renewed confidence among both domestic and international investors who had sharply reduced their exposure to the sector at the height of the crisis.
Piraeus Bank has been among the Greek systemic banks that underwent the most significant balance sheet transformation during and after the country's prolonged sovereign and banking crisis in the previous decade. Its governance evolution in recent years has tracked the broader recovery of Greek banking institutions to positions of greater financial stability, improved asset quality, and renewed investor confidence.
MEGALOU CONTINUES AS CEO ALONGSIDE NEW CHAIRMAN
The retention of Christos Megalou as Chief Executive ensures operational leadership continuity at a bank that is pursuing an active growth and efficiency agenda. In Greek banking, the relationship between board chairs and chief executives is closely observed by domestic and international shareholders, given the sector's history of state involvement and ongoing supervision by European regulatory authorities under the Single Supervisory Mechanism.
Piraeus Bank operates one of the largest branch and ATM networks in Greece and plays a central role in lending to households, small businesses, and larger corporate clients across the domestic economy. The governance configuration established by the December appointments — with Handjinicolaou as chairman and Megalou as chief executive — sets the institutional leadership structure under which the bank will carry out its strategy and respond to the opportunities and challenges facing the Greek banking sector through the remainder of this decade.