THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE MEMBERS' GUARANTEE FUND

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In order transactions to be protected and brokerage firms' liabilities to be covered, the " Guarantee Fund " was set up in 1954 and was restructured in the end of 1997. It is a legal entity operating under Law 2533/1997, which implemented into the Greek Law the EU Directive 97/9 "on Investors Compensation Schemes", so as to cover the full range of investment services provided.

The Guarantee Fund is governed by a 7-member Board of Directors and its President is appointed by the Capital Market Commission, which is also responsible for the surveillance of the Guarantee Fund.

Participation is compulsory for all members of the ATHEX (it is also a prerequisite for obtaining membership and providing investment services) as well as all investment firms-non members of the ATHEX. Nowadays, the Fund's property, which is invested in real estate and fixed income securities, is considerable in relation to other European Stock Exchanges. Each member's contribution is weighed annually with the average daily value of transactions.

As mentioned in the Article 63 of the Law 2533/97, the purpose of the Guarantee Fund is to compensate investors and members of the ATHEX who have acted as counterparties in case of verified permanent or non reversible default of an investment firm, so that the investment services market's stability and reliability will be preserved.

Contributions of its members are annually prefunded. Compensating procedures stipulate that the Fund is obliged to compensate each investor who has made a claim against an investment firm in default up to €30,000. Counterparties are fully compensated.