Greece is on the way to economic recovery as investor faith returns to the recession-ridden eurozone nation , an executive at Greece 's largest bank has told CNN . Petros Christodoulou , deputy chief executive of the National Bank of Greece , said that a drastic drop in government borrowing costs since the outbreak of the crisis in 2009 marks a `` great improvement and a great perception of the country '' by foreign investors . Speaking to CNN 's Max Foster in Athens , Christodoulou said : `` Are we out of the woods with 8 % yields in government debt ? Not yet , but we are on the right path . '' He added : `` All this eventually proliferates into everything that happens in Greece , starting from the banking sector which is in the center of the economy and this is good news going forward . '' Read more : Euro pioneer : Europe would have suffered without single currency . Christodoulou 's comments come in a week of highs and lows for Europe 's worst hit nation . Just seven days ago , Greek stocks , once spurned by investors over fears the country would need to exit the euro , beat every market in the world as the nation 's six-year recession eased . Read more : The birthplace of the euro . While on Tuesday , creditors -- made up of the International Monetary Fund , the European Commission and the European Central Bank -- visited Athens to meet policymakers and assess the country 's finances . The group known as the 'Troika ' remains at loggerheads with the government , led by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras , over the country 's continued austerity program . Read more : Spain 's call to business . Christodoulou believes Greece is becoming a business-friendly country as banks and the state sell off assets in a bid to raise capital . He added : `` I 'm not worried about all this bickering here and there between the government and the Troika . At the end of the day , we 've come a long way and we 're now at the tail end . '' Read more : Energy exec : No second bailout for Portugal . But the influx of investment is yet to filter down to an austerity-fatigued electorate with over a quarter of the population without jobs and youth unemployment at 55 % , the highest in Europe . Nicholas Spiro , founder of Spiro Sovereign Strategy , told CNN that investor confidence in detached from the economic reality in Greece and largely based on the country 's eurozone status being secure . He added : `` The kind of unemployment and the kind of headwinds that Greece is facing are simply too much . It 's very difficult to see how Greece is going to stage any kind of meaningful recovery . '' Read more : Spain turning back the clock on siestas . On Wednesdsay , two of the country 's largest public and private sector unions marched on parliament in a general 24-hour strike against the government 's severe cuts to public services . Christodoulou , second-in-command at Greeks largest and oldest commercial bank , said he was n't worried by the protests . Read more : IMF chief 's warning to Europe . `` It 's hardly surprising we 've had the odd protest , '' he added , `` you have to look at things in a cumulative way and Greeks have come to accept , in a way , they are resigned to accepting all these measures . '' Greece 's economic renaissance . This week , the European Commission released its autumn economic forecast , estimating that Greece will emerge from recession in 2014 and projected solid growth of 2.9 % for 2015 if the country maintains its current path . Spiro said that Greece will be `` very lucky '' to grow next year . `` This is a country that is still struggling to meet the terms of its bailout program , '' he added , `` they have been kicked into the long grass to keep the euro show on the road . '' Greece fell into recession after the collapse of U.S. bank Lehman Brothers in 2008 , which sparked a euro-wide debt crisis the following year . Since then the southern European nation has received 240 billion euros [ $ 320 billion ] from creditors to prevent a sovereign default on its debt and a possible exit from the 17-nation euro area . Christodoulou told CNN that the next step for Greece is to reduce state intervention in business . He finished by adding : `` In the old days , we had the Greek state directly or indirectly involved in about two thirds of Greek business , and it 's the delight of all Greeks when we see this shrinking drastically now . ''
Over a quarter of the Greek population are without jobs and youth unemployment is at 55 % , the highest in Europe . Since 2010 Greece has received 240 billion euros [ $ 320 billion ] from creditors to prevent a sovereign default . The European Commission expects Greece to emerge from recession next year and robust 2.9 % growth in 2015 .