Greece
ECB bulletin says institutional reform important for increasing resilience
Governing institutions in eurozone countries need reform, the ECB says; Finland’s institutions are among very best in OECD but those of Greece and Italy are close to worst
IMF’s crisis performance criticised by internal review
Report evaluates IMF’s handling of eurozone crises from 2010 to 2013; work during programme design and implementation described as ‘uneven’ and concerns raised over political pressure
Ratings agency fined €1.38 million by Esma for regulatory breaches
The European Securities and Markets Authority fines Fitch for improper discussions of information and mishandling timing of Slovenia’s sovereign downgrade
ECB restores ‘waiver’ to let Greek banks access cheaper finance
ECB restores waiver to Greek government bonds, lowering the cost of finance for Greece's central bank; demands further adherence to conditionality, but holds out possibility of buying government bonds
Bank of Greece pushes for government reforms and debt relief
Monetary policy report urges government to pass reforms, but criticises creditor's focus on tax increases and 3.5% primary surplus; expects growth to pick up to –0.3% by year-end
Further key decisions loom in Greek negotiations
Major decisions remain in negotiations over bail-out; IMF staff insist on cuts to primary surplus target that have met with opposition; ECB may restore eligibility of Greek bonds as collateral
Greek deal unlocks funds but delays debt relief
Deal allows possibility of future debt relief but drops IMF’s stronger demands; pushes most difficult decisions back
Eurozone finance ministers hold extraordinary meeting over Greece
Finance ministers meet in Brussels over Greek debt; recent negotiations marked by public disagreements between IMF and Greek government
Central banks may be at risk after Greek website attacked
Denial-of-service attack takes Bank of Greece website down for several minutes; reports point to hacking group Anonymous, and the potential for other central banks to be targeted
IMF director calls for fiscal expansion in eurozone
Greek attempts to consolidate fiscal position by increasing top tax rates ‘simply not working’, director says
Europe set for new Greek clash as Lagarde hits back over leaks
IMF chief has sharp words for the Greek prime minister after staff phone conversation is posted online by Wikileaks; debt relief remains a major sticking point as July repayment looms
Some analysts see stress tests losing effectiveness – Stournaras
Greek central bank governor raises questions over perception of stress tests; regulators’ models need to take more account of national differences, he argues
Institutions agree to mission to check on Greek reforms
Representatives of European and international institutions have agreed to send a team to Athens to check on reform progress; visit is necessary to allow bail-out to continue
Greek governor calls for ‘bold and innovative’ action on non-performing loans
Greek economy should start a modest recovery in the second half of 2016, but the government must hit bailout programme targets and take bold action on non-performing loans, governor says
ECB’s liquidity provision had ‘highly uneven effects’ on interbank markets, paper argues
ECB emergency liquidity provision had very different effects on stressed and non-stressed interbank lending markets; paper reconstructs interbank lending from Target2 database
Eurozone QE ‘much needed’ but not enough for growth, Greek deputy says
Bank of Greece deputy governor Iannis Mourmouras praises ECB programme but suggests more measures needed from elsewhere; criticises poor sequencing of structural reforms in past
Consensus key for moving forward in Greece, says central bank
Bank of Greece stresses need for ‘unobstructed’ implementation of creditor agreement, as it publishes latest interim report on monetary policy
ECB assessment finds capital shortfall at four largest Greek banks
European Central Bank banking supervision uncovered ‘adverse case’ capital shortfalls of €14.4 billion at Greece’s four largest banks; recapitalisation plans needed by November 6
External debt is Greece’s perennial Achilles heel, economists warn
Cycles of external debt and dependence are ‘perennial themes’ for Greek crises since 1829, and other countries may be similarly vulnerable, Carmen Reinhart and Christoph Trebesch argue
ECB paper explores fiscal adjustment in stressed countries
Fiscal corrections have been ‘more costly’ in contractionary times in Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain over the past 50 years, paper suggests
First Target2 data release sheds light on imbalances
Data on cross-border eurozone financial flows gives clarity as to the sharply different directions funds have been travelling, with Germany still comfortably the most popular destination
ECB allows national central banks to disclose ELA provision
Bank of Greece becomes first central bank to make use of power to disclose ELA figures
IMF presses for Greek debt relief as Eurogroup meets
Fund official says decision must be taken on debt relief before IMF will consider providing new funds; leaked document suggests ECB and Commission are concerned about sustainability
Greek memo reveals commitments necessary to access bailout funds
Leaked document shows string of ‘prior actions’ government must complete before it can access up to €86 billion of euro funds