For the second consecutive year, Piraeus Bank received an award by the international Corporate Responsibility Index (CRI), placing it in the golden category. This is the highest distinction awarded this year to a business in Greece. Moreover, at the awarding ceremony, the Bank also received a special prize for its social work, which is mainly carried out through the multifarious activities of the Piraeus Bank Group Cultural Foundation (P.I.O.P.).

The CR Index constitutes a globally leading tool for assessing and evaluating Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) performance of companies in the fields of Society, Environment, Workplace and Marketplace, by using internationally acknowledged standards and criteria. In Greece, CR Index is represented by the Corporate Responsibility Institute that collaborates with Business in the Community (BITC), the British organization that created this Index. Companies are rated by independent specialists-assessors who have received special training by the BITC.

Both the award and the prize were received by Mrs. Sofia Staikou, P.I.O.P. President and Head of the CSR Committee of the Piraeus Bank Group, who underlined the importance that this international award has for Piraeus Bank, especially at a time of recession. She also said: "Taking part in the CRI evaluation procedure enables us to track our progress and to improve our CSR work."

For more information about Piraeus Bank, please visit www.piraeusbank.gr.

Piraeus Bank

Piraeus Bank

Piraeus Bank Group is one of the most dynamic and active financial organisations in Greece today. Founded in 1916, Piraeus Bank went through a period of state-ownership and management (1975-1991) before it was privatised in December 1991. Today, Piraeus Bank leads a group of companies covering all financial and banking activities in the Greek market (universal bank). Piraeus Bank possesses particular know-how in the areas of retail banking, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), capital markets and investment banking, leasing and financing of the shipping sector. Piraeus Bank Group has a growing international presence, focused in Southeastern Europe and Eastern Mediterranean, but also in the financial centres of London and New York. Main strategic targets of Piraeus Bank Group are: further enhancing market shares in Greece and abroad wherever it operates, improving service quality and customer satisfaction, creating innovative products, further enhancing the Group's position in retail banking and small and medium-sized enterprises financing, strengthening the Group in the areas of asset management and bancassurance and, finally, strengthening profitability with a view of constantly increasing shareholder value.

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