##es. last year, the primary surplus was 4. 2 % of gdp, outperforming the target of 0. 5 %. the current account during the last two years had effectively been in balance from a 15 % deficit eight years ago. at the same time, sweeping structural reforms have been implemented, covering the pensions system, the health system, labour markets, product markets, the business environment, public administration, etc. recapitalisation and restructuring have taken place in the banking system and significant institutional reforms have been initiated aiming at reducing the volume of npls. moreover, there is evidence that the economy has been undergoing a rebalancing towards tradable, export - oriented sector : the share of exports of goods and services in gdp increased from 19 % in 2009 to 28. 2 % in 2016, with most of the increase coming from exports of goods. 2. 3 recent economic and financial developments see appendix for an update on the macroeconomy and the banking sector. 3. bog proposal - a mild debt relief exercise see appendix for details. 4. major pending issues two quotes from the latest eurogroup statement ( 15. 06. 2017 ) : i ) “ the eurogroup stands ready to implement, without prejudice to the final dsa, extensions of the weighted average maturities ( wam ) and a further deferral of efsf interest and amortization by between 0 and 15 years. as agreed in may 2016, these measures shall not lead to additional costs for other beneficiary member states ”. ii ) “ in view of the ending of the current programme in august 2018, the eurogroup commits to 2 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches provide support for greece ’ s return to the market : the eurogroup agrees that future disbursements should cater not only for the need to clear arrears, but also to further build up cash buffers to support investor's confidence and facilitate market access ”. 4. 1 getting greece into qe the person speaking before you was the first greek economist to talk about the modalities and the benefits of getting greece into ecb ’ s qe programme, in october 2015 talking to international investors in new york, and the programme – let me remind you that the qe programme started in march 2015. president draghi, when asked about the eventuality of greece ’ s participation in the ecb ’ s qe programme [ on many occasions in fact, right after many governing

emphasis in the future should be placed on the risks and vulnerabilities of the rapidly expanding non - bank financial sector5. in addition, further steps to enhance data quality and availability are necessary, including by harmonising data definitions and promoting greater standardisation at global level ( e. g. financial and real estate transactions data ). issues related to greece let me now turn to a few key domestic issues. throughout the crisis, the bank of greece has been the guardian of financial stability, fully protecting all deposits and supporting the economy and serving the public interest. the bank focused on two major fronts : ensuring adequate provision of liquidity, and managing and assisting recapitalisation, resolution and restructuring of the banking sector. with respect to liquidity provision, the bank has been critical in ensuring continuous liquidity provision to banks in its role as the lender of last resort. on various occasions, the bank of greece has provided ela to the banking system. this has helped preserve financial stability and contributed to the avoidance of a banking crisis. with respect to managing and assisting recapitalisation, resolution and restructuring, the bank, in the context of the adjustment programmes, aimed to strengthen viable institutions and resolve non - viable ones, whilst safeguarding financial stability. to this end, viability assessments and 3 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches capital needs assessments were undertaken. those banks deemed non - viable were resolved and absorbed by systemic banks. with 14 such resolutions having successfully taken place since 2011, this process has also facilitated the considerable consolidation of the banking sector. following three rounds of recapitalisation, greek banks now have among the highest capital ratios of banks in the euro area and maintain buffers sufficient to absorb additional credit losses, as the recently completed pan - european stress test indicated. they have also markedly improved their liquidity position, reducing their reliance on central bank funding, regaining access to the interbank market and issuing covered bonds. concurrently, customer deposits have been gradually increasing. however, the ratio of non - performing exposures ( npes ) to total exposures remains quite elevated and constitutes the most significant challenge for the greek banking sector. banks have set operational targets to significantly reduce the stock of npes by end - 2019. at the same time, significant reforms have been implemented, aimed at removing administrative, legal and judicial impediments to npe resolution, as well as establishing a secondary market for npl servicing and sales. these efforts have started to bear fruit : according to