Influential Bank of Greece (BoG) Gov. Yannis Stournaras pointed directly to three major priorities that the Greek government must resolve immediately in order to ensure that an economic recovery is achieved, namely, conclusion of the second review of the Greek program, implementation of already agreed to reforms and a strengthened framework to manage non-performing loans.
Stournaras, who was addressing shareholders during the BoG’s annual general assembly, appeared nevertheless optimistic this week over the course of the crisis-battered Greek economy and the execution of the 2017 state budget.
The BoG governor, who was previously the finance minister in the coalition governments before leftist SYRIZA assumed power in January 2015, also warned, however, that “if the negotiations are extended without the prospect of a quick agreement, then the country will again enter into a new cycle of uncertainty and deterioration in relations with partners-creditors, as well as the economy’s ensnarement in stagnation.”
