...Greek debt crisis in 2009 occurred as a result of an understated financial deficit and extreme spending. The stagnation of the Greek economy and the demotion in their debt rating did not aid their financial situation. Greece was then faced with the possibility of sovereign debt default. The failure of Greece to pay their debts required bailouts from the European Union (EU) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). While the loan bailouts have eased short term liquidity problems, Greece still remained in financial turmoil which may even deteriorate. This research paper aims to explore the history behind the Greek debt crisis, the implications it has globally and on South Africa as well as the lessons that can be learnt from the crisis. Origins of the Greek debt crisis 2.1 Historical development: 2001-2008/09 In 2001 Greece became the twelfth member to join the Euro zone and was permitted to use the Euro (€) as its currency. Greece joined the Euro zone because of the benefits associated with being part of the Euro area. These benefits were essential to the economy of Greece who had a record of unpredictable inflation (Gibson, Hall & Tavlas, 2012). In addition, after Greece changed to the Euro they had the freedom to borrow money from foreign capital markets. During 2003-2007 government records showed Greece to be growing at 4% a year which gave investors’ confidence and made Greek bonds a popular investment. However, Greece falsified...
Words: 1993 - Pages: 8
...Costs of EMU Membership 7 3.0 Contextual Factors: The Profusion of Dept 10 3.1 The Eurozone Crisis 10 3.3 Greece- The Forefront of the Euro Area Crisis 13 4.0 Alternate Policies and the Effective Consequences 15 4.1 Predicament 15 4.2 Abetting Dependent on Austerity 16 4.3 Creditor-Led Default 17 4.4 Debtor-led Default and Greek Haircuts 19 4.5 Greek Exit 20 5.0 Recommendation 21 Appendices: Appendix 1: Preferential liberalization References List of Illustrations Pg. Illustration 1: The cost of EMU- Diminishing Domestic Flexibility to Asymmetric Macro Shocks 7 Illustration 2: Cost and benefit of Monetary Unions 9 Illustration 3: Evolution of Nominal Unit Labor Costs in the Eurozone Pre to the US Credit Crunch 9 Illustration 4: Current Account Balances in Percentage GDP 10 Illustration 5: Core Bank Exposure to the Weaker Eurozone Member States 12 Illustration 5: Holders of Greek Government Bonds and Dept (in billion Euro) 16 Executive Summary The standing Economic and Finance minister of Germany has commissioned the policy paper for the forthcoming Council of Economic and Finance ministers meeting. The policy undertakes a consideration of whether Greece should exit the European Union on economic grounds. Currently, the Greek dept crisis is infecting the rest of the EMU member states and...
Words: 6430 - Pages: 26
...capitalvia.com G lobal Research Limited I MPACT of G REECE White Paper - Impact of Greece Crisis Global Research Limited Introduction Historically, financial crisis tend to lead to sharp economic downturns, low government revenues, widening government deficits, high levels of debt, pushing many governments into defaults. This is called SOVEREGIN DEBT CRISIS. GREECE is currently facing this, it accumulated high levels of debt during the decade before the crisis, when capital markets were highly liquid. As the crisis has unfolded and there was liquidity crunch in world economy, Greece may no longer be able to rol over its maturing debt obligations. Build – Up To The Current Crisis Between 2001-2008, Greece reported budget deficits averaged 5% per year, compared to Eurozone average of 2%. Also, its current account deficits averaged to 9% per year compared to Eurozone average of 1% Greece funded these twin deficits by borrowing in international capital markets, leaving it with chronically high external debt (115% of GDP in 2009) Some of the facts which can be depicted from following charts : www.capitalvia.com 2 White Paper - Impact of Greece Crisis G lobal Research Limited How Country Debts And Budget Deficits Compare? Projected budget deficit for 2009 Budget deficit figs as % of GDP Debt as % of GDP 68.6% UK 13% 112.6% Greece 12.5% 54.3% Spain 11.25% 65.8% Ireland 10.75% 114.6% Italy 5.3% 74.3% ...
Words: 2286 - Pages: 10
...Introduction The financial crisis of 2007–08, also known as the Global Financial Crisis and 2008 financial crisis, is considered by many economists to have been the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. It threatened the collapse of large financial institutions, which was prevented by the bailout of banks by national governments, but stock markets still dropped worldwide. In many areas, the housing market also suffered, resulting in evictions, foreclosures and prolonged unemployment. The crisis played a significant role in the failure of key businesses, declines in consumer wealth estimated in trillions of U.S. dollars, and a downturn in economic activity leading to the 2008–2012 global recession and contributing to the European sovereign-debt crisis. The active phase of the crisis, which manifested as a liquidity crisis, can be dated from August 9, 2007, when BNP Paribas terminated withdrawals from three hedge funds citing "a complete evaporation of liquidity". Many causes for the financial crisis have been suggested, with varying weight assigned by experts.The U.S. Senate's Levin–Coburn Report concluded that the crisis was the result of "high risk, complex financial products; undisclosed conflicts of interest; the failure of regulators, the credit rating agencies, and the market itself to rein in the excesses of Wall Street." The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission concluded that the financial crisis was avoidable and was caused by "widespread failures...
Words: 4934 - Pages: 20
...www.capitalvia.com Global Research Limited IMPACT of GREECE White Paper - Impact of Greece Crisis Global Research Limited Introduction Historically, financial crisis tend to lead to sharp economic downturns, low government revenues, widening government deficits, high levels of debt, pushing many governments into defaults. This is called SOVEREGIN DEBT CRISIS. GREECE is currently facing this, it accumulated high levels of debt during the decade before the crisis, when capital markets were highly liquid. As the crisis has unfolded and there was liquidity crunch in world economy, Greece may no longer be able to rol over its maturing debt obligations. Build – Up To The Current Crisis Between 2001-2008, Greece reported budget deficits averaged 5% per year, compared to Eurozone average of 2%. Also, its current account deficits averaged to 9% per year compared to Eurozone average of 1% Greece funded these twin deficits by borrowing in international capital markets, leaving it with chronically high external debt (115% of GDP in 2009) Some of the facts which can be depicted from following charts : www.capitalvia.com 2 White Paper - Impact of Greece Crisis Global Research Limited How Country Debts And Budget Deficits Compare? Projected budget deficit for 2009 Budget deficit figs as % of GDP Debt as % of GDP UK 13% Greece 12.5% Spain 11.25% Ireland 54.3% 68.6% 112.6% 65.8% 10.75% 114.6% 5.3% Italy Germany 3.5% 74.3% Source:...
Words: 2290 - Pages: 10
...Background: As the consequence of the 2008 U.S. banking crisis, Europe was hit by one of the worst debt crisis. Starting from Greece in autumn 2009, the crisis spread to other European countries, especially Spain, Italy, Ireland and Portugal and forced European policy makers to take many actions to limit its consequences (BOG, 2014, p.42). While others European economies such as Spain, Portugal avoided the severe crisis by following advisory strategy like austerity, reducing public spending…, Greece situation did not improved. To help Greece improve its situation, the IMF and Eurozone governments sealed a deal for two bailouts in 2010 and 2012, totalling €240 billion. On July 5, 2015 the majority of Greek citizens voted to reject the Europe’s plan to bail out the country’s economy, which caused the fear about the potential exit from the European Union, Greece’s future and world economy as well. Despite that fact, Eurozone leaders still reached an agreement on a third bailout programme to save Greece from bankruptcy on July 13. Although Greece overcame the severe situation, there is no indicator that the crisis will stop. This essay will discuss Greek situation involving 3 main issues, which are mistakes leading to crisis, financial regulation and the role of banks, potential financial contagion and moral hazard. Discussion: 1. Mistakes leading to crisis: One of mistakes leading to crisis was supposed to involve economic statistical data fraud. According to a comprehensive...
Words: 2431 - Pages: 10
...The European sovereign debt crisis Introduction At the beginning of 2010, its emerged that the sovereign debt crisis would drastically spread through the entire European Union since Portugal, Greece, Spain, Italy and Ireland, which are jointly known as the PIIGS were in facing the significant increase in their deficit as well as public debt. The events about the crisis were closely tied to Greece since there were doubts about its ability to offset the huge sovereign debt it owed as well as government deficits. This crisis of confidence in Greece resulted in the significant downgrade of the Greek bonds into a junk status as well as the Greek bond yield spreads notably rose (Brutti and Sauré, 2016). The financial unrest gradually spread to the entire European Union zone and the European stocks tumbled, and the euro currency reached 2-year lows. Nonetheless, Greece was not the only stressed economy in The Euro Zone, in fact, it turned out to be a tip of the iceberg since other nations in the European Union were trailing on the Same road. Spain, Italy, Portugal and Ireland had accumulated huge budget deficits as well as increased public debt to the Gross Domestic product ratios. Portugal had an economic boom that was being sustained by the significantly lower borrowing rates. Nevertheless, it was hit by expeditious wage inflation which adversely affected the local companies’ competition with other foreign firms (CAI and LI, 2012). The sovereign debt crisis in European region has raised...
Words: 2386 - Pages: 10
...EUROPEAN DEBT CRISIS – ORIGIN, CONSEQUENCES AND POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS F RA N TI Š E K N E M E T H Abstract What is the European debt crisis? As the head of the Bank of England referred to it in October 2011, it is “the most serious financial crisis at least since the 1930s, if not ever.”1 In fact, the European debt crisis is the shorthand term for the region’s struggle to pay the debts it has built up in recent decades. Five of the region’s countries – Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Italy, and Spain – have, to varying degrees, failed to generate enough economic growth to make their ability to pay back bondholders the guarantee it’s intended to be. Although these five were seen as being the countries in immediate danger of a possible default, the crisis has far-reaching consequences that extend beyond their borders to the world as a whole. Introduction The global economy has experienced slow growth since the U.S. financial crisis of 2008-2009, which has exposed the unsustainable fiscal policies of countries in Europe and around the globe. Greece, which spent heartily for years and failed to undertake fiscal reforms, was one of the first to feel the pinch of weaker growth. When growth slows, so do tax revenues – making high budget deficits unsustainable. Greece's economy has struggled since the country joined the euro in 2001. In 2004, it admitted its budget deficit was higher than allowed under rules of entry. By 2008 the government had narrowly passed a belt-tightening budget...
Words: 2916 - Pages: 12
...Greece – Crisis and Solutions Paper International Economics Greece - Crisis and Solutions June 25, 2013 Content 1. Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………2 2. Greece joining the Eurozone…...............................................................................3 3. Budget structure that lead to the crisis…………………………………………………………………6 4. Supporting and rescue measures…………………………………………………………………………9 5. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………………….11 6. References……………………………………………............................................................13 1 1. Introduction In the last years the severe debt crisis of Greece has posed a large challenge to the member states of the Eurozone. It is threatening the stability of the European Monetary Union (EMU). After having piled up over 300 Billion Euros of debt, in 2010 the market mistrust in Greece dramatically increased, especially as the newly elected government revealed the incorrectness of the financial statistics of previous years. Finally, on the 23rd of April 2010, Greece was threatened by national bankruptcy and requested help of the other Eurozone members and the International Monetary Fund. Although Greece is one of the smaller economies of the Eurozone, its daring default has great effects on the whole community. Now then, what happen if Greece “Grexit”? The Pros are that a return to the old currency like the Drachma would have the effect of depreciate in value, it would become more competitively in...
Words: 3814 - Pages: 16
...Topic: PIIGS (European debt crisis) 吳宇綸D0131292 劉昱顯D0131156 王謙 周雋彥D0125599 Contents 1. Introduction 2. Overview of the European sovereign debt problem 3. Relief measures of the European sovereign debt crisis 4. European debt crisis 5. Conclusion 6. References I. Introduction The PIIGS is a group that composed of five countries that have some commonality in location and economic environments. In this case, PIIGS includes Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain. The countries which be mentioned are all part of European Union members and have been noted for having weak economics and bad situation of financial problems. In 2008, economic crisis came to all over the world, during the worldwide economic crisis, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain began to come out the grave and serious concern in the European Union refer to the enormous amount of sovereign debt that they were carrying. The problem with the PIIGS is that speculators dropped, compounding their debt issues and the situation might be much more worse. Many European Union members were also unwilling to rescue these struggling nations although when it became very clear that assistance would be needed. The sovereign debt crisis sparked a number of conversations about reforming financial policy in the European Union to prevent similar problems in the future. The members of PIIGS felt displeasure at the negative allusions and some have...
Words: 6354 - Pages: 26
...ECONOMIC CRISIS: CAUSES & EFFECTS Objective: To study the factors that lead to the Greek Economic Crisis and its effects on other other countries including India. A. IMPORTANCE Greece is normally known for mythology and coliseums, but for the past year, and probably well in to the future, Greece is making headlines for less mythical reasons. Greece has earned the reputation of being that family member who can't seem to get out of money trouble and, in turn, is always asking for a loan. Also, like that same family member, the chances of getting that money back isn't high. Greece is on the brink of bankruptcy and many economists believe that they are already bankrupt. Greece's debt has reached 160% of their gross domestic product. When debt reaches 100% of gross domestic product, it is cause for major concern. What's worse, they don't have the capacity to do much about it. Greece can't artificially change the buying power of their currency because they are part of the eurozone, and they can't easily raise taxes because they don't have an efficient or well-developed system of collecting taxes. If all of that isn't enough, the citizens of Greece are growing increasingly upset with their government, which is causing political turmoil as well as economic. Greece owes so much money to other countries that each citizen owes $40,000! 1. We Live in a Global World The world is no longer a collection of countries, many of which have little effect on each...
Words: 7912 - Pages: 32
...Greece, the Country in the Eye of the Storm GBM 489 Greece, the Country in the Eye of the Storm Turmoil, riots, corruptions, dishonesty, poverty, hunger, disasters is just a taste of each country is experiencing during this economic crisis. Greece is the eye of the storm amidst the hurricane of the world. The following pages will provide insight into the storm of Greece’s debt, the assistance of the global organizations, structural reforms, policies, and suggestions in implementing a business plan. Greece s’ Debt Greece’s Debt problems consist of a variety of mistakes and issues including profligate spending, corruption, overpaid positions, tax evasion, and large pensions, etc. One rule when joining the European Union (EU) is an understanding each country is to keep the country’s budget deficit within 3% of GDP. Later, after Greece joined the EU its budget deficit was actually around 13% (Lemco, 2010). Greece tried to handle its debt issues until the EU decided further action needed to be taken. The Eye of the Storm According to the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs, the eye of the storm has two definitions a literal and figurative. The literal definition states the eye of the storm is the area of calm in the center of a tornado, hurricane, or cyclone. The figurative definition states the eye of the storm is a temporary peaceful time amidst more trouble and strife yet to come (Spears, 2007). Either definition provides a great description of why...
Words: 1600 - Pages: 7
...European Sovereign-debt Crisis Throughout history, debt has been an issue and a concern for many countries around the world. Nations borrowing money, unnecessarily spending, corruption, inability to pay back loans and a variety of other factors have contributed to the devastating and lasting effects of monetary absolution. In recent years, some of the most significant and devastating economic occurrences that have taken place were released to the general public. One that has received a great deal of attention is known as the European Sovereign- debt Crisis or the Euro zone crisis. The European Sovereign Debt crisis is an ongoing financial crisis that has made it impossible for some countries in the Europe to repay or refinance their government debt without the assistance of third parties (Wikimedia). Countries across the European Continent are struggling to find ways to cope with the crisis and the impact that it has taken on debt stricken nations. Europe’s politicians, regulators, and market players are trying different approaches to deal with the problems at hand (Bloomberg LLP). Due to the number of countries that are involved this financial crisis is not only affecting these countries but the entire world. The Euro zone crisis had a variety of origins that grew their roots over a course of many years, but the situation was not released to the general public until back in late 2009 when the concerns intensified. Fears of a Sovereign Debt Crisis arose among investors as...
Words: 3676 - Pages: 15
...Tom Fernandez Professor James Terry HIST-102-H1 25 April 2013 The 2003-2007 real estate boom which led to the eventual 2008 meltdown of the U.S. financial markets unfortunately was not contained to the big banks and investment firms based mostly in New York City. By the time bailouts were implemented by the United States government, the effects of the financial crisis were exported to Europe. States similar, but not limited to Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain (PIIGS) have each been in the media spotlight in recent years as attempts to rescue their respective financial markets are implemented. Unfortunately, many efforts made by Eurozone member states and other international actors have failed in alleviating the financial stresses of the region. Considering this, then, is there really a permanent solution that can not only relieve financial markets but also prevent the crises from spreading? To date, the European Unions’ collective response up to this point has been insufficient in order to curb the further slide into Europe’s second recession. I contend, then, that Europe and the Euro would greatly benefit from following many if not all of Germany’s internal budgetary constraints in order to fix the overall problem of debt and spending. One of original intentions of the euro when it was established in 1992 was to limit the amount of budget deficit a sovereign member state could have. Furthermore, the euro was designed to prevent a “bailout” should a state be...
Words: 3864 - Pages: 16
...The European Debt Crisis In 2009, Greece came forward and announced that their financial management of their economy had gone awry. Greece's revealed their budget to be 12.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), in addition, its debt-to-GDP ratio at 120% was twice the limit allowed in the Maastricht treaty. This triggered what is now known as the European Debt Crisis, and led to similar announcements by Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Spain and most recently Cyprus. In the next pages we will attempt to explain the events leading up to the crisis and potential next steps for the European community. On February 7th, 1992 the 13 member nations of the European Council came together to sign the Maastricht Treaty. The treaty was designed to create financial stability throughout the Euro Zone by laying out fundamental fiscal policies for each country to follow. The treaty primarily encompasses four points: 1. Inflation rates: No more than 1.5 percentage points higher than the average of the three best performing (lowest inflation) member states of the European Union (EU). 2. Government finance: Annual government deficit: The ratio of the annual government deficit to gross domestic product (GDP) must not exceed 3% at the end of the preceding fiscal year. Government debt: The ratio of gross government debt to GDP must not exceed 60% at the end of the preceding fiscal year. 3. Exchange rate: Applicant countries should have joined the exchange-rate mechanism (ERM II) under the...
Words: 1347 - Pages: 6
