Government relying on safety cushion

From now on the government will have to reach for the country's liquidity safety cushion to cover its cash requirements as a result of the reduction of state revenues and the support measures for households and enterprises.

According to a Finance Ministry source, 14 out of the 20 billion euros of that cushion will be absorbed to cover needs up to end-June. There is a separate cash buffer of 15.7 billion euros under the surveillance of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) which will not be touched for now, although the same source noted that "the buffer is meant precisely for such cases of major crisis."

The 20 billion euros of available cash reserves are from Greece's various general government entities, previous bond issues and primary budget surpluses of previous years. Most of this cash has been deposited at the Bank of Greece, although another part remains at...

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