In this episode of Credit One2One, George Koukis, International Business Development Director of Factoring and Supply Chain Finance at QUALCO, speaks with Alexandros Kontopoulos, CEO of NBG Factors, on:
1️⃣ How Greece's Factoring growth rate reached 10%, outpacing the EU's 1.8%
2️⃣ Why SMEs entering export markets are turning to Factoring for liquidity and credit-risk protection.
3️⃣ What clients expect from digital-first Factoring platforms.
A podcast that speaks to the Greek market — both literally and in practice.
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Read the full conversation:
George Koukis: Welcome to another episode of QUALCO's Credit One2One, where we explore the most important developments in the field of financial services and technology. Today we will focus on a sector that has shown impressive growth in Greece: Factoring. Joining us is Mr. Alexandros Kontopoulos, who will help us shed light on this spectacular trajectory of Factoring in Greece, as well as help us understand what comes next. Mr. Kontopoulos is one of the most prominent executives in the field of Factoring in Greece. He has extensive experience in the sector, in roles that combine both operational practice and institutional representation. He is the CEO of NBG Factors, a subsidiary of the National Bank of Greece, while also serving as the President of the Hellenic Factoring Association. Alexandros, welcome and thank you for being with us.
Alexandros Kontopoulos: Hi, George, thank you very much personally. Many thanks also to QUALCO for the opportunity you are giving me to discuss the developments and the progress of the sector in the Factoring market. QUALCO is a significant supporter, meaningfully assisting several Factoring companies. I hope we have a great discussion.
George: Thank you very much, Alexandros. So, I’ll begin with my first question, which concerns the significant growth of Factoring in Greece. The figures have doubled over the last 7 years, as far as I know, and I wanted to ask you whether this is a matter of circumstance, or if something deeper is changing in the way that businesses are financed through Factoring?
Alexandros: Look, George, in recent years, there have been major changes in the economy, both globally and in Greece. Let’s start with the economic crisis that began in 2009–2010 and ended in 2019. Then we had the pandemic. Then we had a war, geopolitical developments, which have had a very significant impact on international trade and recently we are seeing a practice of tariff imposition on international trade, which affects businesses. Then we had the pandemic, during which the entire economy and businesses became digitilised — you know this better than us. And then we have geopolitical tensions which had a very significant impact, firstly on the pricing of raw materials, and secondly on the energy prices. During that period what did we see? We saw very high inflation, an increase in prices for the same quantities of products, thus an increase in working capital needs for businesses and companies.
Rising inflation was addressed with a policy of high-interest rates by central banks. It appears that this policy is effective, but high interest rates created a rather high financial cost for businesses. All these factors affect and have affected the use of Factoring in the country. Overall, I would say that our country has certain advantages in the operation of Factoring.
The key factor is that it is a supervised market. We are one of the few countries in the European Union that has a specialised Factoring law. So, the provision of services is not determined solely by the Civil Code, which usually governs the procedures of assignment, but there is also a specialised Factoring law. I would like to remind at this point that countries like Germany and the United Kingdom do not have a Factoring law. And I am emphasising this because in Greece the Greek legislator acted before private initiative did.
The Factoring law was introduced in 1990, and the first Factoring companies were founded in 1994. So, I would say that we are now a mature market. Next, we will discuss some statistics of the Greek market, and we will compare these specific with the corresponding ones from Europe. We will see that the Greek market is now a mature market, tested in times of crisis, and its performance has been quite good.
We will mention specific figures. As I mentioned, we have the advantage of the Factoring law. We have a largely concentrated market; a large percentage of the operations is carried out by four systemic Factoring companies. So, to answer your question, after this lengthy introduction, I would say that it is the result both of circumstances and of the maturity level of the Greek market, because since 1994, when the first Factoring company was established; it has been over 30 years that this institution has been covering the working capital needs of Greek businesses. Within this landscape, the way in which businesses are financed has changed, as has the way in which large banking institutions think and set their criteria. The crisis left a very significant footprint on the operations of banks. Supervision increased significantly, and so did control.
I won’t hide from you that during the crisis, Factoring was an institution — a financial product — that benefited quite a lot. The reason it was favored had to do, firstly, with the nature of the product, where the collateral and the way of repayment are the same. Secondly, its short-term nature. And thirdly, the understanding of the business cycle of a company. These are factors that contributed to the increased use of Factoring by companies during the economic crisis.
George: Thank you very much for this enlightening analysis you gave us.
It is clear now that the rise of Factoring is no longer a matter of circumstances, as you described. It is a combination of a now-mature market in Greece with quite strong foundations, institutional foundations, but also a shift in business mindset. Now let’s move to a question regarding the demand for Factoring services. In your opinion and based on your experience, which sectors in Greece utilise Factoring more and systematically today, and where do you still see potential?
Alexandros: I will start with a historical background. In the early years of my career, in 1997, when I was starting, I remember that the success rate was about one successful meeting for every ten meetings we had with clients. Those were in the early years when we had to introduce the product, we had to explain to businesses what it involved; there were concerns from entrepreneurs and financial directors. Perhaps Factoring was seen as a sign of financial weakness. And I remember that in those early years the most popular sector for Factoring business was suppliers to supermarkets and hypermarkets. The reason was obvious and related to the credit period within which supermarkets paid, which was often extended beyond the agreed upon terms. Now, the profile of the most common clients — if we look at the 10–15 largest clients at National Factors — it has completely changed, and that is partly due to shorter credit terms which hypermarkets now adopt due to the implementation of an EU directive on the time of payments, and also due to the entry of various companies from different sectors, which may include metals, production, manufacturing or export-oriented companies, or service providers. Therefore, we see that the profile of the typical Factoring client has changed significantly in recent years. What’s important to mention is that of the total Factoring transactions conducted in European markets, the “80/20” rule usually applies. What does this rule say? That 80% of the transactions are done for company sales within the domestic market, and 20% are related to exports. So, within the group of businesses that are served by Factoring, we must definitely include export companies, particularly small and medium-sized ones, that are now taking a step to expand into unfamiliar for them markets, where via Factoring they can both obtain liquidity and cover the risk of the counterparty — meaning, the risk of the importer. Also, in recent years, we’ve seen a big rise in reverse Factoring — what we call “reverse Factoring” or as it is known in international practice, Supply Chain Finance — that is, in supply chain financing solutions, which is something Greek companies are now starting to become familiar with, and covering not only their needs for receivables liquidity, but also their needs to settle their payables. In this way, they bring their transaction cycle into a bigger scale — they smooth, in general, their working capital — and they give Factoring companies the ability to offer what we call end-to-end services — meaning, complete services covering the entire transaction cycle across their supply chain. So, I would say that products, in general, have a dynamic. New products emerge as the economy evolves. The economy, you know, is constantly changing — it’s not static. Companies that were once giants no longer exist, and companies that are startups today, will dominate tomorrow in the financial arena — they will be the companies that will thrive. So, it’s very important in product design, in selecting clientele and in shaping your strategy to identify both the current and future needs of businesses.
"We see that the profile of the typical Factoring client has changed significantly in recent years."
George: Very nice! You mentioned new solutions, new Factoring products like export Factoring, reverse Factoring, and Supply Chain Finance.
I’d like us to move on to what we could call a more traditional part of Factoring — what’s known as non-recourse Factoring. The reason I ask this is because we now see that one out of two Factoring transactions in Greece is now non-recourse. So, we clearly see a shift in how Factoring services are being offered. First, I’d like to ask you if you can explain in simple terms for those who are watching, what “non-recourse Factoring” means, but also what is driving this growing trend of Factoring — of non-recourse Factoring — and what role does technology play in mitigating the risk?
Alexandros: Yes, that’s a very relevant point. Non-recourse Factoring plays a very central role now also in the Greek market. Just consider that in the European market — and you’ll hear me refer often to the European market because 65% of the global Factoring market is in Europe — so it is mainly a European practice. So, in Europe, at a European level, 55% of the turnover — of the managed receivables — relates to non-recourse Factoring. Recourse Factoring accounts for 45%. So, we see that this non-recourse practice has overtaken recourse Factoring. In Greece, recourse Factoring is still more common, but many years ago I remember it was around 15–20%. Now it's 45%, and 55% is recourse Factoring. What is non-recourse Factoring? Non-recourse Factoring is the provision of services by the factor — the Factoring company — to a supplier, where in addition to managing, collecting, and providing liquidity, also undertakes the credit risk of the buyer — the supplier’s customer, whom we refer to as the buyer.
"You’ll hear me refer often to the European market because 65% of the global Factoring market is in Europe."
Non-recourse Factoring is referred to in the literature as “Full Factoring,” meaning a product that offers the full range of services. As I mentioned, in Greece, non-recourse Factoring is quite widespread and is carried out by Greek Factoring companies in three main ways. Essentially, one way is for us to take on the counterparty risk — that is, the buyer — directly, evaluating them through the approval bodies, through the approval process, the credit risk assessment, and the highly complex and advanced credit scoring models adopted by both the Factoring companies and their parent banks, and finally approve the assessment and the coverage of the credit risk.
A second way is to request the involvement and reinsurance — as we call it — from credit insurance companies. The role of credit insurers is the reason why non-recourse Factoring has increased so much in recent years. In our country, during the crisis, one of the benefits that emerged was the development of insurance awareness on the part of the clients. Before, there was the illusion that insurance meant a check — that is, if you got paid with a check, postdated check from your customer, you were covered. The crisis showed that a check is simply a method of payment — a method for settling a transaction, which is based on the invoice and the exchange of products, the sale of goods or services — but it does not provide insurance coverage. At that point, we saw a big wave of companies turning to insurance companies.
Now, internationally, insurance companies play a leading role in international trade — they cover, to a very large extent, international commerce transactions.
We see over time that credit insurance is gaining ground over traditional banking insurance tools, such as bank guarantees and letters of credit. And the reason is that credit insurance is generally simpler. It covers transactions done on open account, has less bureaucracy, and is often cheaper as well. So, what both Greek Factoring companies and their European counterparts do, is use credit insurance — the insurers — to cover a portion of the risk we undertake in non-recourse Factoring. The third way of offering non-recourse Factoring services is if our client, that is a supplier of goods or services, already has an insurance policy with an insurance company and assigns those rights to a Factoring company, and in this way, we provide Factoring services on a non-recourse basis. As you mentioned, there is an upward trend. It helps businesses because it enables them to receive comprehensive services. They are able to manage differently the representation of their financial statements and in some degree “relieve” those statements from bank obligations, and improve their ratios — and I believe that in Greece too, we will soon reach the European average in this area.
George: Thank you very much, Alexandros. So, from what you’ve described, credit insurance is essentially the pillar of this transition, and “non-recourse Factoring” is a very important tool that protects businesses from credit risk..
Alexandros: I would say - sorry to interrupt you, George. I would say it’s a very closely related field. We walk side by side with credit insurance companies. We share a common logic, a common understanding, a shared culture in managing credit risk, and when credit insurance is also used by businesses, and all business-related and transactional information is utilised by companies, it can lead to credit risk management techniques that are extremely effective. It is very important for credit insurance to be used correctly.
George: Yes. Yes, yes, absolutely. Now, Alexandros, if I may, I’d like to refer to the role of the Factoring Association. Obviously, the existence of an institutional body — an organised representation of Factoring service providers — is very important. Based on your institutional role, I’d like you to explain to us how the Hellenic Factoring Association contributes to strengthening and advancing the sector in Greece.
Alexandros: Yes, the Hellenic Factoring Association was established in 2011.
I remember that back then, we were eleven members. Then, by 2013, we had the consolidation of the banking system. This consolidation of the banking system also swept up and consolidated the Factoring companies. At this point in time, we have seven members. The Association is governed by a five-member Board of Directors, and its function and role in the Greek market is extremely important. The founding purpose of the Association is the support of the institution, the development of business in the Greek market and through building partnerships, the strengthening of Greek enterprises and by extension, of the economy and society as a whole. Members of the Association include the four systemic Factoring companies,
There is BFF — a branch of an Italian bank that operates on Factoring services in Greece — and Pancretan Factoring, which belongs to the Attica Bank group, and we are now awaiting the name change with the latest developments. The Hellenic Factoring Association is a member of the EU Federation for the Factoring and Commercial Finance Industry, as it’s called. In our industry, we call it simply the EU Federation.
It is the union of the national Factoring associations — a very important organisation that is primarily responsible for engaging in dialogue with EU institutions on issues relevant to our sector. It is responsible for publishing statistical data and generally for participating in the issuance of EU directives that may affect Factoring.
For example, in defining delays or defaults in anti-money laundering procedures related to the Factoring sector, or in adopting directives for timely payments in commercial transactions between suppliers and buyers. So, participating in the EU Federation is extremely important. It allows us to monitor developments in real time, as I said, within the European Union — even in the consultation phase, before directives are issued and accordingly adjust our strategy. At this point, I’d like to mention a few statistics on the performance of the Greek market. As you mentioned earlier, the figures have doubled in the past 7 years. In 2024, the growth rate of the Factoring market reached 10%. The growth rate — the average rate of growth in Europe — was 1.8%. So, we’re seeing a multiplicative surge for the Greek market. What’s important, and I want to emphasise, is an indicator that we monitor to understand how Factoring is evolving in any economy — the level of penetration into GDP. In 2017, if I’m not mistaken, when we started monitoring the data, the penetration rate of Factoring into the Greek economy was around 8% — 7 to 8% — maybe 7.5% if I remember correctly, while Europe at that time stood at about 10%. 2023 was the first year in which the penetration rate of Factoring in the Greek economy exceeded the European average. So, we’ve gone to 12.7% from 7.5%, where we were 8–9 years ago, while the European market stood at 12%. In 2024, we are increasing the gap even further. And we reached 13.7%. So from this, we see that the Greek market now has penetration rates into the Greek economy that are very high — higher than the European average — which demonstrates a series of successful decisions and strategies, both by the state and by the Factoring companies which, as I mentioned, began with the passing of the Factoring law in 1990, followed by the founding of the first Factoring companies, the adoption of best practices that are also found in Europe — and now, to results and achievements that showcase Greece as one of the most successful European markets. Within this journey, the role of the Hellenic Factoring Association was also very important.
"2023 was the first year in which the penetration rate of Factoring in the Greek economy exceeded the European average. So, we’ve gone to 12.7% from 7.5%, where we were 8–9 years ago, while the European market stood at 12%. In 2024, we are increasing the gap even further. And we reached 13.7%."
George: Thank you, Alexandros. This information was very helpful.
It’s very important to see that there is, let’s say, a success story in the Greek Factoring market — and that Factoring is now a vital tool for Greek businesses, as is its active institutional presence that exists in the sector through the Hellenic Factoring Association. Let’s close today’s discussion by referring to technology — a factor that seems to have a catalytic impact on the entire ecosystem of Factoring globally. I’d like to ask you, from your experience, what do you consider essential in a modern Factoring platform — and what was the role of QUALCO’s collaboration with NBG Factor in your company’s success?
Alexandros: As I mentioned at the beginning, taking a brief historical look at the economic conditions, the pandemic played a central role in all our lives. Back then, you may have noticed that the entire planet tried from that point onward to digitilise — to digitilise the employee experience, to digitilise the customer experience — everything. We all became more digital. More specifically, in the National Bank of Greece Group, a massive project began — a titanic transformation project, which you’ll now begin to experience yourselves, as customers of the bank. The bank is becoming more digital, more user-friendly, more modern, more up to date, faster, more flexible. So, on this journey of digitalisation, we couldn’t afford to fall behind. But it wasn’t just the bank or just Factors that became more digital. The public sector also became more digital, as did the regulatory authorities. So, to answer the question of what a platform must have — and then to describe how our collaboration with QUALCO is defined: The characteristics that a platform must have, first of all, is to be flexible. It must be able to “communicate” with third-party systems. Who are those third parties? It could be the parent bank, it could be a government platform where data must be sent and received. For example, the central credit registry — it could be client platforms. So, flexibility is a very important feature that all platforms must have — and that includes platforms serving Factoring companies. Now, we made a very strategic decision years ago — to digitilise the customer experience. Through this process, we tried — we measured and tried to reduce the time the client spends maintaining their relationship with us. At that level, we designed more digital solutions — from a point where we had an environment, what you call “client-facing” — which is what the customer sees, but it was static and offered only outdated information, or it contained data from the previous day. We modernised this environment, we made it a real-time environment where data could be retrieved in real time. And apart from viewing just a static picture, you can also interact with it, meaning send and receive data in real time. This is, was, and will be a long journey. Digitalisation doesn’t stop at anything.
"The characteristics that a platform must have, first of all, is to be flexible. It must be able to “communicate” with third-party systems."
We see that as the populations — meaning the average age for business executives — gets younger, or we see CFO and accounting director positions being filled by young people, these young people are more familiar with tech and adopt our solutions more easily, and so the work becomes quicker, simpler, and safer — and that is extremely important. Obviously, new cybersecurity threats are emerging. There is a need to adapt to new requirements, new policies. But technology has shaped us in a significant way. The role of QUALCO was very important. Together, we designed key functionalities both for enhancing the user experience and improving the customer experience. It’s a journey that doesn’t stop — it continues. We’re already exploring how artificial intelligence can further enhance our functionalities, but certainly, as I said regarding credit insurance companies — that they are very essential partners — the same goes for IT companies — in our case, it is QUALCO, with whom we have walked this path for many years.
"The role of QUALCO was very important. Together, we designed key functionalities both for enhancing the user experience and improving the customer experience. It’s a journey that doesn’t stop — it continues."
George: Thank you very much, Alexandros! That last statement was very important. I think this is where we wrap up today’s conversation. From everything we discussed and heard from you, it is now clear that Factoring in Greece is evolving from an alternative financing solution into a key development tool for businesses — and that technology and digitalisation are now strategic choices. Thank you sincerely for joining the podcast and for the valuable insights and information you shared with us and with those watching. We’ll meet again in the next episode! Thank you once again, Alexandros.
Alexandros: Take care! And thank you again for the invitation.
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