National Bank of Greece ADR (fka NBGGY)

[~ NT ~]

SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED ENTERPRISES : CLEAR SIGNS OF RECOVERY IN THE BUSINESS CLIMATE

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Athens, 17 December 2013

NATIONAL BANK OF GREECE

PRESS RELEASE

SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED ENTERPRISES:

CLEAR SIGNS OF RECOVERY IN THE BUSINESS CLIMATE

Clear signs of recovery in the small and medium business sector in Greece have been detected by the National Bank of Greece in its latest SME survey, which is based on a sample of about 1,000 firms. The survey reveals two main forces at work lately in the sector: (i) The business climate is constantly improving, as reflected in the rise of NBG's Business Confidence Index for SMEs (up by 20 points in the past 12 months); (ii) Against a backdrop of difficult conditions - both cyclical and structural - SMEs are managing to innovate, mainly as a healthy way out of the crisis. In particular, the share of innovative SMEs has now reached 30 per cent of the SME segment compared with 20 per cent before 2008, and accordingly innovative products or services now account for 11 per cent of SME turnover from 7 per cent prior 2008.