depositors. you are right that credit provision to the real economy is a concern. in my view, it will help if the work on the non perfoming loans ( npls ) is accelerated. they are slightly below 30 % and if banks have such high npls it is difficult to start new lending ”. a clash is looming in autumn between the europeans on one side and the imf on the other, mostly because of the greek debt sustainability issue. should the europeans take the situation completely in their own hands or we need the imf? “ in my experience, in all the countries cases that i know, the troika is functioning well and this is especially true here. there are convincing reasons to have the imf on board. they have a unique knowledge when it comes to program design and implementation. they are not part of european politics, they are like an “ external policeman ”. there is also a clear request from a number of member states to have the imf on board. this does not exclude that in the longer term, after the crisis, we have a second look at how we would deal with this kind of situations. here, one can look e. g at what the role of the esm could be. but this is not something to change during the crisis ”. how is the process of the banking union going? the ssm is supposed to become operational some time in 2014. is the ecb ready? “ the banking union in all its elements is for us the key project. it is probably the biggest institutional change since the introduction of the single currency. as far as the ssm is concerned, what is lacking is the final decision by the european parliament. wιthout it we do not have the legal basis, for example to employ people. i expect the decision will be taken in september this year and then the ecb will assume responsibility a year later, in fall 2014 ”. i suppose you are also expecting a decision on the srm which is evolving in a kind of battlefield between the commission and berlin … do you agree with the commission proposal or you think it should be watered down? “ the srm is the second key element of the banking union. it would be preferable to have the srm operational when supervision starts because the ecb can close down a bank only when it knows what happens after that. i think one can generally welcome the commission proposal ”. bis central bankers ’ speeches i recently read that, concerning

putting it fiscal affairs in order? “ i am glad that you are asking this question. the program from the beginning consisted of two pillars : the fiscal side and the “ growth enhancing ” structural reforms side. on the fiscal side, i think we have really seen significant progress. it is a significant progress compared to any other fiscal adjustment after world war ii. it was necessary because of the unsustainable fiscal situation and we have to pay respect to the efforts. during my talks i received an update about the fiscal situation after the first seven months and if it continues like this, a primary balance by the end of the year as the program foresees is in reach ”. the main problems though are centered on the structural side of the program. even the present greek government, which has shown a clear commitment, does not seem to have full ownership when it comes to structural reforms. you know very well what happened with the “ mobility scheme ” in the public sector, you have also seen what is going on with privatizations. how can these shortcomings be overcome? “ my impression after the talks i had is that there is a clear commitment to the program. and i made it very clear : this is not the program of the troika, it is the program of the greek authorities. i acknowledge that many things have happened and at the same time more needs to be done. the main issue for the citizens is : do you create growth and jobs? we have reached levels of unemployment which are unacceptable and one should focus on the structural reforms side to increase competitiveness and create jobs, especially for the young. what we see is that wages are decreasing but we are not seeing a similar movement downwards for prices. this is a sign that there is not enough competition in the economy ”. when you mention this to your interlocutors in athens, what do they answer? “ i cannot speak for them but my impression was that they are aware of this problem and are willing to tackle it. if you look at the most recent data, it is in reach to have a moderate but positive growth next year. but one has to show perseverance on this kind of reforms and not unravel what has been achieved ”. we understand that the next troika review will be extremely difficult. both mr. samaras and mr. venizelos are insisting that no new measures, meaning cuts in wages or pensions, are going to be taken although we have heard this