Greece’s Future Financial Status

Eric Hsieh, Staff Writer

Greece became the center of Europe’s debt crisis after the Wall Street implosion in 2008 faded from the headlines.

In 2009, Greece revealed that it had been understating its deficit figures for years, alarming numerous investors and businesses. The country was then shut out from borrowing in the financial markets. In 2010, Greece was close to bankruptcy and the International Monetary Fund issued enormous bailouts. These bailouts would eventually amount to more than 240 billion euros.

Recently, various international creditors agreed to loan even more money to Greece. This deal totals about 12 billion euros in loan money; 2 billion euros would be spent on Greece’s domestic needs and the remaining 10 billion would go to rebuilding Greece’s banks and financial system. The main cause of Greece’s economic turmoil was rampant tax evasion.

While the Greek government has managed to cut down on this tax evasion and the financial situation seems to be slowly recovering, the future still looks bleak and uncertain. Very recently, the National Bank of Greece stock generated a new 52-week low at $0.42 and this signals deep problems still brewing the country’s banking sector.