Stournaras: Economy needs bank deposits to return
Greece needs the return of bank deposits as much as the recapitalization of lenders to kick-start the economy, Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said on Tuesday.
“Recapitalizing banks is a necessary – but not a sufficient – condition for liquidity to be channeled to Greek firms and Greek individuals,” Stournaras told a European Parliament hearing in Brussels.
“We need deposits to come back.”
Since the government of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras took office in June, Greece has benefited from the return of about a third of bank deposits that flowed out amid concerns over whether the country could stay in the 17-nation euro, he said.
“It is the return of deposits which will determine mostly whether Greek banks can start providing liquidity,” Stournaras said.
[Bloomberg]
