recapitalized and restructured. about a year ago, the banking system was comprised of 17 banks. within the next few months, there will only be three large banks and a few small ones. what had been a credit crunch, as banks deleveraged, is being reversed. now confidence is returning. how do you know that? i ’ m proud that the bank of greece protected financial stability in difficult – even dramatic – times. no greek has lost a single euro in his bank account. and now deposits are even coming back! depositors emptied 87 billion euros from their accounts during the crisis, more than one third of the deposit base. they sent the funds abroad or hid them under their mattresses. since june the funds are returning to the banking system. so far around 15 billion euros have returned. in december alone 6 billion euros returned in deposits. why did greece ’ s fiscal position became so difficult despite the programme? the main reason for the deterioration of the debt dynamics was that we lost 20 percent of gdp since 2009. so if we are able to change the mood and boost confidence and growth, the debt dynamics will improve fast. in 2010 you were also optimistic that, under the may 2010 adjustment program, greece will get out of the crisis without help from outside. after greece started implementing the program in may of 2010, bond spreads halved the following months. that is why i was optimistic greece would continue with the progress. but after the fall of 2010 a kind of reform fatigue set in. and then there was the talk about private sector involvement that eroded investors ’ confidence. was the debt restructuring a mistake? what is a mistake in this situation? if investors fear to lose their money, confidence is lost. had greece followed through with reforms, fully implementing its program, and in the absence of talk about the restructuring of private sector debt, the debt restructuring for the private sector could have been avoided. there was a criticism of you because you received a large severance payment after leaving your post in the bank piraeus after only two years. bis central bankers ’ speeches in early 2008 when i left that bank for the central bank, the situation in the banking sector was very different from the present situation. at that time, there was still extreme optimism. my payment was made in such a situation and was also stipulated under my contract. it was approved by all the relevant bodies, including the shareholders of my previous bank at their general assembly. let me also point out that the

greek banking sector at that time was strong and had not received any state aid. in most countries, including ireland, iceland, spain and the us, the banking sector was the source of the crisis. in contrast to the situation in other countries, greek banks did not hold toxic assets or excessive real estate loans. moreover, their capital ratios were high and their loan to deposit ratios were low. in greece, the banking system was hit by the sovereign crisis. do the business world and the rich people really do enough for your ailing country? there are countless cases of tax evasion. although tax evasion is a problem in many countries, in greece we have had relatively more. that is why i repeatedly called upon past greek governments to tackle the problem. fortunately, the present coalition government is acting. as a central bank we are doing our part to contribute. in this regard, may i also point out that the bank of greece provided evidence that has been the basis of criminal proceedings in the judicial system involving money laundering. concerning tax evasion, the french submitted a list of greek tax evaders that wasn ’ t followed on in greece. this was most unfortunate. however, the greek tax authorities are now taking the necessary actions. in this connection, they have asked banks to provide data of people who have moved money out of the country in order to investigate whether there has been tax evasion. we already see positive results from these actions. bis central bankers ’ speeches