Governer of Bank of Greece: 2013 Might Be the Last Year of Recession

According to the Governor of the Bank of Greece George Provopoulos, speaking at the Annual Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders, there are great chances that 2013 was the last year of the economic recession. However, he raised two basic requirements in order to verify the prediction of recovery for the year 2014. The first, is determination and consistency in the application of the stabilization program, as according to him, the results so far do not leave room for complacency. On the contrary, they require further fiscal adjustment to maintain a permanent basis and to extend the primary surplus as well as to ensure the debt viability. Secondly, averting or even minimizing the risks and uncertainties that could result from the deterioration of the socio-political climate due to the usual controversies and the polarization ahead of the European Parliament and local elections.Mr. Provopoulos also stated that next week the Bank of Greece will publish the results of the “stress tests” on the capital adequacy of the Greek banks. Moreover, Mr. Provopoulos noted that BlackRock evaluated the data focusing on the domestic loan portfolios while providing an estimate on the loans of bigger subsidiaries of the Greek banks abroad. The Governor of the Bank of Greece described 2014 as a year of Development with a reduction in unemployment, while also underlining the need for structural reforms. Based on the information presented in relation to poverty in Greece, about 23 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, while Greek households at risk of poverty or social exclusion limits reach 34.6 percent. In particular, the annual income of one out of two citizens of this category is below 4,000 euros. What is more, unpaid home loans reach 31.2 percent and unpaid consumer loans are at 41.8 percent.

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