AGL 38.00 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
AIRLINK 136.21 Decreased By ▼ -0.24 (-0.18%)
BOP 5.38 Decreased By ▼ -0.06 (-1.1%)
CNERGY 3.72 Decreased By ▼ -0.08 (-2.11%)
DCL 7.41 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-1.2%)
DFML 45.40 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.02%)
DGKC 78.25 Decreased By ▼ -0.27 (-0.34%)
FCCL 28.58 Decreased By ▼ -0.31 (-1.07%)
FFBL 56.10 Decreased By ▼ -0.90 (-1.58%)
FFL 8.93 Decreased By ▼ -0.34 (-3.67%)
HUBC 101.70 Increased By ▲ 4.90 (5.06%)
HUMNL 13.15 Decreased By ▼ -0.25 (-1.87%)
KEL 3.75 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-0.53%)
KOSM 7.30 Increased By ▲ 0.02 (0.27%)
MLCF 37.05 Decreased By ▼ -0.75 (-1.98%)
NBP 66.60 Decreased By ▼ -0.90 (-1.33%)
OGDC 164.80 Decreased By ▼ -2.72 (-1.62%)
PAEL 24.80 Decreased By ▼ -0.30 (-1.2%)
PIBTL 6.62 Decreased By ▼ -0.08 (-1.19%)
PPL 128.00 Decreased By ▼ -3.50 (-2.66%)
PRL 23.86 Decreased By ▼ -2.54 (-9.62%)
PTC 14.80 Decreased By ▼ -0.30 (-1.99%)
SEARL 60.87 Decreased By ▼ -1.38 (-2.22%)
TELE 6.90 Decreased By ▼ -0.10 (-1.43%)
TOMCL 35.80 Decreased By ▼ -0.43 (-1.19%)
TPLP 7.65 Decreased By ▼ -0.23 (-2.92%)
TREET 14.05 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.36%)
TRG 44.59 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (0.09%)
UNITY 25.84 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.04%)
WTL 1.20 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-1.64%)
BR100 9,089 Decreased By -54.7 (-0.6%)
BR30 27,134 Decreased By -191.8 (-0.7%)
KSE100 85,250 Decreased By -335.3 (-0.39%)
KSE30 26,803 Decreased By -181 (-0.67%)

Europe's politicians seem to have already decided to continue funding Greece, European Central Bank policymaker Jens Weidmann was quoted as saying on Saturday. The ECB Governing Council member and Bundesbank chief said international lenders must still make an "unembellished and honest" assessment of the country's finances.
"Politicians have evidently decided to continue financing Greece," Weidmann was quoted as saying by German newspaper Rheinishe Post. Asked if the report of the troika of lenders - the International Monetary Fund, European Commission and European Central Bank - on Greece could nonetheless be independent, Weidmann said this was problematic.
"How can you objectively assess the completion of a programme, if you are too afraid of the consequences of a negative conclusion?" he said. "I am relying on the fact the troika will deliver both an unembellished and honest assessment of the situation in Greece before payments are delivered."
Weidmann said the ECB and national central banks within the euro zone had bought up a considerable amount of Greek debt and thereby become one of Greece's biggest creditors, but could not take a haircut on that debt. "The central banks may not waive Greece's debt, that would be a direct transfer and therefore would be tantamount to a forbidden monetary financing of a state," he said.
ECB President Mario Draghi said earlier this week the ECB was unlikely to help Greece much further in its bailout because it was prohibited from providing direct aid. Weidmann reiterated his criticism of the ECB's plan to buy up the debt of struggling euro zone states. "While strict conditionally has been agreed for the new government debt purchase programme, it remains to be seen how binding this is," he said.
"Fundamentally, monetary policy must not end up in tow of fiscal policy. Experience shows that independence is decisive for a central bank to keep monetary value stable." Weidmann denied reports that he had threatened to resign over the ECB's bond-buying plans: "I did not threaten to resign. When I took on this office, I knew what to expect. What would a resignation have brought?"
Asked if he felt abandoned by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, he said "no", saying that central banks and governments had different duties and interests. Weidmann also said the euro would still exist in 10 years' time: "I am certain of this. Clearly there is the political will to keep the euro area as a whole." Weidmann dismissed the calls of some German politicians for Germany to have higher voting rights in the ECB to better reflect its share of the ECB's risk burdens.

Copyright Reuters, 2012

Comments

Comments are closed.