Bank of Greece (BoG) Governor Yannis Stournaras said last spring’s completion of the first review of the Greek program (third bailout) in tandem with the implementation of 15 “prior actions” demanded by creditors has positively affected confidence in the crisis-battered Greek economy.
Bank of Greece (BoG) Governor Yannis Stournaras said last spring’s completion of the first review of the Greek program (third bailout) in tandem with the implementation of 15 “prior actions” demanded by creditors has positively affected confidence in the crisis-battered Greek economy.
Stournaras, fresh from his high-profile appearance before a relevant Parliament committee last week, where he lambasted the former finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, for the latter’s handling of negotiations with creditors during a disastrous first half of 2015, nevertheless warned that dangers for the fragile economy remain.
He spoke at an annual assembly of the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE), where he also said that if Greece’s external debt is judged as “sustainable”, then the country can re-enter the markets in 2018.
Stournaras, an influential central banker and the former finance minister in the Samaras coalition government, maintained that implementation of the current bailout program has proceeded slowly, but with expected positive results.
As such, he pointed to several figures he said showed an improved macroeconomic environment, such as increased industrial output over the first eight-month period; higher retail sales volume (9.7 percent) in July, yoy, and a net gain in the number of wage-earners since the beginning of the year.