Calamos Supports Greece
GreekReporter.comGreek NewsEconomyGreek Central Banker Says Capital Controls to be Eased Soon, Debt Relief...

Greek Central Banker Says Capital Controls to be Eased Soon, Debt Relief Needed

st
Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras said that Greece will soon ease capital controls, however, full liberalization would depend on progress regarding Greek debt relief. The country’s debt burden is also a precondition for entering the European Central Bank’s asset-buying scheme.
Greece’s outlook emerging from its long recession depends on getting debt relief and easing capital restrictions so as to enter the ECB’s 1.74 trillion euro asset buying scheme.
Speaking to Reuters, Stournaras said that the next step would take place once capital controls are lifted. “The full lifting of capital controls is the end of the road,” he said, adding that to get there, Greece needs to finish off the second bailout program evaluation, discuss debt measures and inclusion in the quantitative easing program. Above all else, the ability of Greece to bounce back depends on how quickly confidence returns to the market.
Stournaras believes that the government will quickly conclude the second bailout review and pave the way for debt talks in December so that the ECB can include Greece in its QE purchasing scheme.
The central banker made it clear that serious discussions on debt would not start unless Greece is included in the ECB’s sovereign bond-buying program. Nonetheless, debt relief has been a sticking point as Germany opposes a move while the ECB and IMF are both calling for the burden to be eased.
“The government could try a test bond issue next year,” said Stournaras. “All elements of improvement are conducive to testing markets at some point not so far away. We need inclusion in QE for this to happen.”
Regarding the IMF’s inclusion in the program for Greece, Stournaras said that everyone realizes the importance of this. “The IMF is close to our proposal at the Bank of Greece on debt measures and relaxing fiscal targets somewhat after the expiry of the current program.”
The Greek central bank’s target is for Greek banks to reduce their huge overhang of bad loans by 40 percent in 2019, this is “realistic” and would be helped by economic recovery that is expected to come next year.

See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!



Related Posts