Bank of Greece Governor: Full confidence in Government

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA) Georgios Provopoulos, the Governor of the Bank of Greece’s, said (on February 22) – in an interview with Bloomberg in Athens – he is confident that Greece will achieve its “very ambitious” deficit-reduction goals and avert further credit-rating downgrades.
Rating agencies “want evidence that the plan is being implemented on target” and “some time will have to pass before they can form a better judgement,” said Provopoulos, who is also a European Central Bank council member.
“I have full confidence in the government meeting its goals. They have to succeed.
And they will, I’m sure of that,” he stressed, adding that he takes the commitment of European governments to stand by Greece at face value. The lack of a detailed rescue plan isn’t disappointing, he said. 
Bloomberg.com: Provopoulos Confident Greece Will Meet

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Bank of Greece: Structural Reforms

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)  Speaking at an event organised by the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE) on Monday, Bank of Greece Governor George Provopoulos emphasised the need for an extensive framework of structural reforms, mainly in the wider public sector, pointing out that for as long as Greece’s monetary issues continue to shake investors’ and markets’ confidence, the economy will not be restored easily. Provopoulos also underlined that the Greek banks remain healthy and strong and their fundamental indices are satisfactory.  The IOBE event celebrated the enactment of the “IOBE Excellence” to be awarded to people for contributing to the economy with their overall activity, as well as the establishment of a new, annual event at which a distinguished personality from Greece or abroad will address current or structural problems of the Greek and international economy. Bank of Greece: Speech by Governor George Provopoulos (in Greek)

Bank of Greece Annual Report

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)  Bank of Greece Governor Nicholas Garganas, in his annual report of the economy released yesterday, forecasts continuous growth of the economy at higher rates than the rest of the eurozone, albeit at a slower pace. The country’s 2008 GDP growth forecast is revised downwards at 3.5% from a previous estimate of 3.7% in February. The slow down, as well as the inflation rate expected to rise to 4% this year from 3.4% previously, are inevitable and are due primarily to higher oil prices. The report also attributes these trends to higher pay rises and the presence of cartels in many markets. The Governor said the Central Bank favours mergers and acquisitions in the banking sector and called on banks to improve the quality of their portfolios, and on households to make careful appraisal of their ability to repay loans before borrowing. Garganas also welcomed the recent reform of the social security system.