UBS is the latest international credit institution or ratings agency to forecast a punishing recession for Greece in 2020 - repercussions from the coronavirus-related "lockdown" and continuing fallout in the near future - with the Swiss-based investment bank pointing to a 10-percent implosion of GDP this year.
The forecast echoes a similar, and gloomy, forecast issued earlier this month by the IMF.
At the same time, UBS forecasts that Greece's external debt will also mushroom, reaching roughly 200 billion euros.
On a brighter note, the investment banks recognizes that inclusion of Greek bonds in the ECB's "quantitative easing" debt buy-back scheme is a significant support for the country's now battered economy.
As with practically all such forecasts, UBS analysts focused on the all-important tourism and travel sector in Greece and its share of GDP, noting that the damage will depend, in large part, on the duration of the ongoing pandemic.UBS warns that the greater part of the current season may be lost.
UBS also said the existence of a "cash cushion" inherited by the current Mitsotakis government by the previous Tsipras government is a positive development.
