European Central Bank President Mario Draghi on Wednesday defended the ECB against criticism that it acted harshly toward Greece, but said the central bank is ready to reinstate a waiver on Greek bonds if Athens completes the bailout program. The ECB lifted the waiver on February 4. Mr. Draghi defended the euro zone central bank saying that it simply applied its lending rules to Greece. However, he said, ECB is willing to accept state bonds for funding if the Greek government shows conditions for a successful completion of the bailout program. “Having said that, we are ready to reinstate the waiver as soon as the Governing Council will decide that the conditions for a successful completion of the program are in place,” he said. According to a Reuters report, it appeared that Draghi’s remarks that the move to again accept Greek bonds as collateral for funding would not be immediate.
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