Greece’s central banker has cut his salary by almost a third, a person familiar with the matter said Tuesday, as part of a series of moves to cut operating costs and in a symbolic show of solidarity for the deep, across-the-board pay cuts that have been imposed on the country’s public sector over the last three years.
In a letter to the head of the European Central Bank, George Provopoulos, who is also a member of the European Central Bank’s governing council, said he had reduced his paycheck by a further 30%, on top of a 20% pay cut he had taken in December 2009.
The letter, whose authenticity was confirmed by a Bank of Greece official, said that the central bank’s two deputy governors had likewise agreed to a 30% pay cut.
The letter also outlines a series of other spending cuts taken at the Greek central bank that include reducing headcount, cutting overall staff salaries, closing branch offices and reducing travel and procurement expenses, among other things.
In the past two years, several other senior Greek public officials–such as former Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, once Bank of Greece governor and later ECB vice president–have also taken salary cuts or foregone their salaries altogether in a show of solidarity.
(source: dow jones)
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