*  *  *  Ladies and gentlemen, It is a great pleasure to be here today and have the chance to share with you my thoughts on the impact of the Greek sovereign crisis on the Greek banking sector, outlining the challenges to financial stability and the policy initiatives taken primarily, but not only, by the Bank of Greece.
At the outset, it is important to highlight that financial stability is a necessary condition for achieving the goals of prosperity and sustainable growth. That these goals are shared by all is amply reflected in the current mandates of central banks with their emphasis on price stability, support for the general economic environment and, more recently, the safeguarding of financial stability.