Ex BoG governor: “Third recapitalization of banks wasn’t necessary”

The former governor of the Bank of Greece, Giorgos Provopoulos dropped a small bomb just there in front of the members of the Parliamentary committee investigating bank loans to media and political parties.

Responding to relevant questions posed by committee members, Provopoulos said that the third recapitalization of banks in November 2015  “was not necessary”!

To the question whether he considered that “the banks would need a fourth recapitalization” Provopoulos replied:

 “I  can not answer if there will be a fourth recapitalization. I personally think that even the third recapitalization was not necessary.”

The ex governor refrained from blaming those who decided the recapitalization last year, the SYRIZA-ANEL government or his successor Yiannis Stournaras. However he criticized political choices and actions taken by all previous governments since the beginning of the crisis and especially the government of ex PM George Papandreou.

He stressed that “the country could not escape the international shaking up …” but “it could have economically stand for three years, had more efficient policies been implemented and the decline would have stopped there.”

He added that “we should have accepted a reduction of GDP by 15% instead of 26% and thus we would have entered growth. Today we have lost 26% of GDP and no one knows what is the country’s direction…”

George Provopoulos did not accept the description of a “Greek party” for what was happening in the economy until 2010 and argued that “there was a period of prosperity worldwide and not only in Greece, but this lasted until 2007.”

PS or 2008, when the Lehman Brothers collapsed :) They are all kind of wiser when they have quit their posts but do little when active. *yawn*