Bank of Greece (BoG) Gov. Yannis Stournaras met with main opposition New Democracy (ND) president Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Monday, with talks reportedly revolving on the central bank’s efforts to reduce NPLs held by the country’s systemic banks.
Afterwards, Mitsotakis said guaranteeing banks’ liquidity is a necessary priority for economic recovery in the thrice bailed-out country.
The former minister and pro-reform center-right political leader also touched directly on the issue of “bad debt”.
“A bold but fair settlement for bad debt is necessary for real relief of households (burdens) and businesses’ viability,” he said.
The meeting comes as the BoG is expected to announce a proposal, in the next few days, fora a multi-faceted framework to reduce NPLs in the country.
Mitsotakis, whose party is leading ruling SYRIZA by double digit percentage points in practically all mainstream opinion polls for the past year and a half, said ND will take a position in the plan when it is unveiled.
The meeting took place at the Bank of Greece building in downtown Athens, with ND shadow finance minister Christos Staikouras and Mitsotakis’ chief of staff, Stelios Petsas, also attending.
