the state ( repayable advances ) and two schemes implemented by the hellenic development bank – a guarantee scheme and a co - financed interest subsidy scheme for new corporate loans. these are expected to reach an overall loan volume of about €13 billion, or 7. 7 % of gdp. they come on top of the broader fiscal package in response to the pandemic, including interest subsidies for existing performing loans, bonds and bank overdrafts, reductions and deferrals of tax and social contributions, and labour market support measures. so far, the ecb ’ s policy measures and the relevant greek policies have supported bank lending to corporates, which has increased substantially, while credit standards have remained broadly stable. a large net flow of loans – above €1 billion – was registered in july, supported in particular by the guarantee scheme of the hellenic development bank. at the same time, greek small and medium - sized enterprises continue to have serious concerns about their lack of access to financing. their financing gap remains high, despite the increased availability of bank loans and the decline in interest rates. in order to underpin the recovery, policy support remains necessary to safeguard the continued supply of credit. looking ahead, it is essential to complete the financial sector reforms needed to support the process of npl reduction and guarantee an adequate supply of credit during the recovery. these reforms include improving the e - auctions framework, revising the insolvency framework, reducing the backlog of pending personal insolvency cases before the courts, and clearing called state guarantees on bank loans. the funding provided by next generation eu is an opportunity for greece 2 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches the funding from next generation eu creates an extraordinary opportunity. for the first time in history, the european union will issue common debt to counter a common shock. this will bring fiscal policy more in tune with monetary policy at the european level, and may represent an important step for european integration : we borrow together to recover from the crisis and to invest in our future. all eu countries will benefit from this common response. but to be effective, european measures require careful planning and decisive action at the national level. in time, the need to buffer the immediate impact of the pandemic will be replaced by the need for investment and reform to support a sustainable recovery. as the national support measures are phased out, a well - planned and coordinated approach will be necessary if we want to avoid cliff effects. policies will have to find the right

jean - claude trichet : interview with il sole 24 ore interview with mr jean - claude trichet, president of the european central bank, in il sole 24 ore, conducted by mr beda romano on 31 august 2011, and published on 2 september 2011. * * * 1. a compatriot of yours, jacques delors, the former president of the european commission, has said in recent days that the euro area is “ on the brink of the abyss ”. it ’ s a very pessimistic view, undoubtedly coloured by a sense of disappointment. do you share it? i have great admiration for jacques delors. but let me sum up some of my present observations. first, we have a credible single currency which over the last 12 years has kept its value in terms of price stability in a remarkable way in comparison with the previous national currencies in the last 50 years. the solidity of the currency itself is not disputed and our fellow citizens all over europe are calling on us to continue preserving price stability. second, the euro area, taken as a whole, is in a better position from a fiscal standpoint than other economies. in 2011, the public finance deficit of the euro area should be around 4. 5 % of gdp, while in the united states or japan it will be about 10 % of gdp. but we had a very serious weakness in terms of economic and fiscal governance inside the euro area which has been revealed by the global crisis. 2. well - informed politicians are not hesitating to talk about a possible break - up of the euro area. the weaknesses cannot be denied. the weaknesses have to be corrected. loose fiscal policies and insufficient attention to competitive indicators have not been surveyed rigorously and corrected in time. individually and collectively the european countries have to correct the present situation. individually by adjusting their domestic policies – as all the advanced economies, including the us and japan are called on to do – and collectively by considerably reinforcing their mutual surveillance and their governance. 3. on the subject of governance, there ’ s a discussion in various quarters about the possibility of creating european bonds. former italian prime minister romano prodi has proposed the creation of a fund guaranteed by the gold reserves of countries that would issue bonds to buy back national debt and make new investments. at this stage, we have the efsf bonds, which are bonds with a european signature. the main message of the ecb governing council to governments is to implement rapidly