Greece will soon ease capital controls further but full liberalization will depend on progress in easing the country’s debt burden, which is also a precondition for entering the ECB’s asset buying scheme, central bank chief Yannis Stournaras said.
Propped up by three successive bailouts, Greece hopes to emerge from a long recession next year. But much of its outlook depends on getting a long-sought reduction of its huge debt pile, easing capital restrictions and inclusion in the ECB’s 1.74 trillion asset buying scheme.
“We gradually lift capital controls and the next step will take place soon,” Stournaras, a European Central Bank Governing Council member, told Reuters in an interview. “The full lifting of capital controls is the end of the road.”
“To get there we need the finishing off of the second (bailout program) evaluation, discussion on debt measures and quantitative easing inclusion. Above everything else, it depends on how quickly full confidence returns.”
Stournaras expects the government to quickly conclude the second bailout review, opening the way for talks on debt possibly in December, setting the stage for the ECB to include Greece in its quantitative easing asset purchase scheme. (full interview here)
Stournaras did not elaborate about the “upcoming easing”.
Ever since the capital controls were imposed end of June 2015, Greeks cannot withdraw more than 60 euro per day. However they can make unlimited payments via debit cards.
Yannis: a soldier of fortune who rode with the memorandum and was handsomely rewarded as a highly paid executor of Berlin and the ECB. Really, does anybody know how much tax free and capital controls free money this b****rd makes at our expense?