Stournaras warns against review delay
Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras warned on Thursday that any delay in the completion of the third bailout review would pose a serious risk to the local economy.
Addressing an event organized by Credit Suisse, the central banker said that any delay “must be averted as it would generate a new cycle of uncertainty that would lead to the suspension of investment plans, delay the repayment of the state’s expired debts and make the return to normal credit conditions more difficult. In that case, the economic recovery and the return to international credit markets will have proved short-lived.”
Stournaras also referred to a series of external risks associated with the rise in the euro’s exchange rate, the possibility of a slowdown in eurozone growth and geopolitical dangers.
The central bank chief added that there is strong political consensus in the eurozone that Greece should stay in the bloc, and that if the bailout program is implemented smoothly and on schedule, growth in 2017 will amount to 1.7 percent, speeding up to 2.4 percent and 2.7 percent in 2018 and 2019 respectively.
