The sixth anniversary of the grim announcement that Greece will seek an IMF bailout, made on April 23, 2010 from the remote isle of Kastellorizo by then Greek PM George Papandreou, has witnessed a loss of 28 billion euros in the Athens Stock Exchange’s (ASE) capitalization since then — roughly 40 percent of its total – with the general index down 67 percent and 66 listed companies taken off the board.
Papandreou’s announcement at the time led to the first bailout by European creditors and the IMF, a development also accompanied by a private sector involvement (PSI) “haircut” of Greek sovereign bonds, and followed by another two bailouts (memorandums) and a continuous recession. Four general elections were held in the meantime, as well as one referendum.
During the same six-year period, listed companies on the ASE raised 58 billion euros in capital from the stock market, with the lion’s share dealing with Greek systemic banks’ recapitalization.
