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SSM president: Political events affected Greek banks more than European peers

The chair of the the supervisory arm of the European Central Bank (ECB), Danièle Nouy, cited “political events” as drastically affecting Greek banks in comparison with other European banks’ viability prospects.

“Banks are not all in the same situation. Some were harder hit by the crisis than others and are still in the recovery phase. I think that they are moving in the right direction, but the situation is different for banks that were less affected. One cannot compare a Greek bank to a French, German or Dutch bank. Also, not everything is the banks’ fault. Greek banks were struggling with political events that were beyond their control. Supervision of the banks was good, but they suffered some damage due to the political turmoil, which resulted in recapitalisation,” she was quoted by Het Financieele Dagblad.

Nouy also said European banks are “absolutely” safer now and fully recapitalized.