yannis stournaras : recent economic and financial developments in greece speech by mr yannis stournaras, governor of the bank of greece, at the 86th annual meeting of shareholders, athens, 1 april 2019. * * * greece in the post - programme period : challenges and prospects towards a sustainable growth model 2019 marks the beginning of new course for the greek economy. following the successful completion of the last economic adjustment programme in august 2018, the activation of the enhanced surveillance framework and with greece now subject to the improved institutional framework for economic governance in the european union and the euro area, the greek economy is called upon to operate in a new economic policy context. it is our duty, as individuals, businesses, political and institutional stakeholders, to prove that we have taken ownership of the lessons of the crisis. 2018 saw the recovery of the greek economy gain traction, with a gdp growth rate of 1. 9 %. the key drivers of growth were a rise in exports of goods and services, reflecting a greater extroversion of the economy, and a pick - up in private consumption supported by employment growth and an increase in households ’ disposable income. the smooth execution and completion of the economic adjustment programme, improvements in confidence and the ensuing strengthening of growth led to a return of deposits to banks. this, in turn, enabled an increase in bank liquidity, a significant reduction and almost elimination of emergency liquidity assistance ( ela ) from the bank of greece, a small recovery of bank credit, as well as a further relaxation of capital controls. all of the above led to upgrades of the credit rating of the greek sovereign and enabled greece to return to international financial markets a year later, in february 2019, when, taking advantage and of the favourable global investment climate, the greek government successfully issued a five - year bond. the successful issue of a five - year government bond was the first positive step on the way back to normality. moreover, the successful 10 - year bond issue in march 2019, for the first time since the start of the public debt crisis in 2010, marked a more decisive step in the same direction, i. e. towards reconnecting greece with the markets. the legal provision recently passed by parliament on primary residence protection also contributes in this direction, as it reforms the relevant legislative framework, incorporating specific eligibility criteria and safeguards. the debt relief measures agreed in june 2018, together with the increased disbursements from the european stability mechanism (

collective work carried out by all departments, particularly the economic analysis and research department, and endorsed by the bank ’ s decision - making bodies. in the years of the crisis the bank of greece saw a need to enhance its public discourse and increase the frequency of interventions, with a view to : – warn about major risks which although clearly looming, had not been realized by the general public and were ignored by the governments. – raise awareness of the complexity of the situation and the need to change the course of the economy, thus contributing to the formulation of policies for a more effective management of the crisis. the bank of greece ’ s public discourse has been enriched with new elements since the bank has sought to strengthen its role as an advisor to society, communicating directly with the public, which in that period was inundated with conflicting and inaccurate information and signals that often resulted in confusion and higher uncertainty. through its statements and its participation in the public debate, the bank of greece has aimed to present the true facts in a comprehensible manner, dispel misconceptions and misunderstandings and provide all citizens with reliable and timely information on the available options and implications thereof. it should be noted that most central banks undertook similar changes regarding their communication policies, which – in response to the conditions of the crisis – have shifted away from the traditional communication model whereby their discourse was addressed to a close circle of experts and was often cryptic. to sum up, i am convinced that greece has an abundant supply of public knowledge that can benefit our country. non - domestic knowledge should also be added, as it is bis central bankers ’ speeches communicated to the public by numerous reports, studies, analyses, proposals and forecasts for greece published by international organisations, think - tanks and research bodies. thus, one can safely assume that greek governments have at their disposal a bulk of knowledge that can be evaluated and used – if it is considered to be helpful – in the formulation of economic policies. the demand side let me now discuss the demand side, i. e. governments ’ willingness to recognize the usefulness of outside knowledge, particularly public knowledge as i have described it. experience shows that governments are reluctant in general, with perhaps one exception, the simitis government, who i am happy to see here tonight, to exploit public knowledge, even if the proposals and recommendations are potentially relevant and useful. a revealing example is the prolegomena of the present crisis : many years before 2008, many independent observers, among them