There were economic consequences from the imposition of capital controls but the government deserves some credit for succeeding in limiting them with its actions, Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos said on Tuesday during a speech at parliament for the approval of twelve legislative acts.
“Our first concern, with the help of the Bank of Greece, was to focus on the current account in order to have access to imported products which were necessary for exports. We helped tourism by excluding tourists from the restrictions, while we established a weekly bank withdrawal limit of 420 euros, which is equivalent to a monthly salary of 1,680 euros,” the minister said.
“The result was that while the IMF’s initial estimates for [Greece’s] recession in 2016, was that it would reach around 4%, current estimates are for a 1.3% decline and it may be even less,” he added.
(Source: ANA-MPA)
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