Borrowing rates remain at high levels

The cost of money is refusing to drop at any significant pace in Greece as borrowing remains stubbornly high for local enterprises and households in the face of low interest rates in the eurozone.

Small and medium-sized enterprises and the few households that are able to secure bank credit are burdened with rates that are twice the eurozone average.

In contrast, interest rates for deposits in Greece have converged to a great extent with those in the rest of the euro area, taking the interest for time deposits to 0.57 percent with a declining trend as the liquidity of banks is gradually being restored.
The reduction in deposit rates is fully compatible with the eurozone trend, where the average level came to 0.30 percent in July, although the picture varies from country to country.

The actual yields of time deposits in a series of countries are practically...