Greece's Bailout Is Ending - What's Next?

Just this week on August 20, 2018, Greece made its official exit from an almost 8-year-long aid program. Mario Centeno, the Chairperson ESM Board of Governors, stated, "The ultimate goal of the financial assistance plan and reforms in Greece, over the past eight years, has been to create a new basis for healthy and sustainable growth. It took much longer than expected, but I believe we are there; Greece's economy is growing again, there is a budget and trade surplus, and unemployment is falling steadily."

Despite what Centeno says, many have expressed doubts as to whether there is even a possibility of a viable future for Greece and its people. The New York Times recently published an article titled, "Greece's Bailout is Ending. The Pain is Far From Over." Several other international news publications, including the Wall Street Journal, The Independent, and Reuters all published articles with similar titles (i.e. Greece Set To Exit Bailout, Still Faces Daunting Challenges).

The most heavily indebted Eurozone member, having received over 288 billion euros in financial support, Greece is now faced with the challenge not only to swiftly and consistently move ahead with the demanded reforms as foreseen by the exit agreement but to regain lost trust in the process, rebuilding confidence with markets, investors and companies and moving on to a post-bailout era of stability and predictability.

Under the current agreement, Greece has until 2033 to pay back loan or interests on some 100 billion euros lent by the EFSF, with maturity extended by a decade. At the same time, the country will receive every semester through to 2022, profits made by the ECB on its Greek bonds, estimated at around 4 billion euros.

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