- Some bailout that turned out to be.
The European Stability Mechanism disbursed its final tranche of loans to the Greek government on Aug. 6.
On Aug. 20, the program officially ended, although the loans are not expected to be fully repaid for another half-century.
- Matthew C. Klein
- Barron’s
If their purpose was to support the Greek economy, the emergency loans must be considered a failure.
Since 2008, the economy has shrunk by a quarter, and more than 400,000 Greeks have emigrated.
House prices are down 43%.
Bank credit to the private sector has contracted by a third.
Fixed capital formation…