Papapetrou, Panagiotis

Few names are more synonymous with the Greek custody business than Panagiotis Papapetrou has been during his 30-year career in securities services.
Inducted: 2020

After almost 30 years of working in the securities services business in Athens, it’s safe to say few names are more synonymous with the Greek custody business than Panagiotis Papapetrou.

His legendary status was formalised through Global Custodian’s Hall of Fame status, but as one of the faces of Greek custody through one of Europe’s most difficult modern economic situations in living memory, he is already held in high esteem among his peers as the banking sector recovery accelerates.

His career began in 1990 at Barclays Greece Securities Services, where he worked for seven years as an account manager and then sales and client relationship manager.

Following a brief spell at the Athens Stock Exchange, Papapetrou’s custody journey continued at Societe Generale Securities Services where he worked first as a director, and then as regional director for the central and south east Mediterranean region.

His next move took him to the Piraeus Banking Group, when, in 2012, it acquired Societe Generale’s Geniki Bank subsidiary. Papapetrou was Geniki’s director for securities services for two years within the Group until it was merged with its parent.

Now, as director, strategy planning and sales at Piraeus Bank Securities Services, Papapetrou is one of the most recognisable and highly-regarded figures in Greece and in Southeastern Europe.

The bank’s performance in Global Custodian’s agent banks in emerging markets surveys over the years has been another testament to Papapetrou. Most recently, in 2019, the bank scored well above both market and global averages in all areas, with almost 40% of individual questions awarded the highest possible score of 7:00.

After the Greek economy suffered the longest recession of any advanced capitalist economy to date during Papapetrou’s career, the bank seems to have come out the other side and as was described in Global Custodian’s 2019 survey write-up, “is at the top of its game”.