Panos Varangis

Panos Varangis

Principal Agriculture Finance Specialist

Panos Varangis joined the FIG team in July 2020, as a principal operations officer.  Panos leads the global program to promote agricultural finance through financial institutions and has worked as an industry specialist in a number of investment and advisory projects across regions.

Prior to that Panos was the Head and Global Lead for agricultural finance in the Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation (FCI), Global Practice at the World Bank.  Since 2014, Panos has been involved in projects around the globe that facilitate financing for farmers and Agribusiness SMEs by working on public policy issues and financial products that involve the private sector. From 2009 to 2013, Panos led IFC’s advisory work to facilitate access to finance for SMEs, agribusiness and farmers and improve risk management.

Before joining IFC in 2009, Panos served as the Deputy Governor of the Agricultural Bank of Greece (2004-2009) and was a member of the board of directors of Agrotiki Insurance, ATE Cards (ABG’s credit card company), and Mindbank, an SME bank in Romania (subsidiary of ABG).

From 1987 to 2004, he worked at the World Bank in various positions at the International Commodities Division, the International Trade Division, the Bank’s Research Department (DECRG), and at the Agricultural and Rural Development (ARD) Department where he oversaw a global program on commodity risk management and index insurance.  Panos was instrumental in starting the work at the World Bank on index insurance back in 1999 when he received a development grant to explore the subject.

Panos holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Columbia University in New York and an MA in Economics from Georgetown University in Washington DC.

Panos speaks Greek (native), English, Spanish and Italian.