Galery

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Do you believe that banks will withstand the impact of the crisis?

Banks have a small cushion called European Central Bank. If it did not exist, Greek banks would have already gone bankrupt. They can be lent up to 120 billion euros without any problems. After that amount, they can be financed by meeting certain conditions, but generally when they run upon a rock, they can always turn to the European Central Bank. The banks of Argentina, most of which went bankrupt, did not have such a cushion.

Does your darkest scenario contain the option Greece to return to the drachma?

The drachma no longer exists as a currency. A dialogue in this direction is a complete nonsense. The whole theory that if Greece fails it should return to the drachma is fundamentally wrong and I do not know what nourishes it. This is a theoretical possibility. Another option is keeping the euro in any case. Returning to the drachma would not solve the problems, on the contrary – it would exacerbate them because it would show that the "Euro" system could not cope with the difficulties. It could also mean a complete disaster for the country itself.

First, Greece would lose the banks’ rescue belt, called the European Central Bank. Secondly, it would leave the European Financial Stability Facility. Third, the currency would be devalued, which would make the foreign debt more than 200% of the GDP. Fourth, I am not certain about the whole theory that the drachma would significantly enhance the competitiveness of the country because our economy is not focused on exports. We import much more than we export, and tourism is not able to bear the entire burden of growth - it is not so large a sector. After the return of Greece to the drachma it could not raise so much revenue from tourism, so as to compensate for the reduction of the effect of devaluation. In other words, even if the tourist flow and the proceeds thereof double this would not compensate for the devaluation of money.