Interview of the Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras with Bloomberg
20/09/2025 - Articles & Interviews
ECB at ‘Good Equilibrium,’ No Need to Ease More, Stournaras Says
By Mark Schroers, Sotiris Nikas, and Jana Randow
The European Central Bank is probably done lowering borrowing costs, with any further easing needing meaningful changes to the outlook for prices and economic growth, Governing Council member Yannis Stournaras said.
While inflation is expected to be slightly below 2% in the coming years and risks are to the downside, that alone isn’t enough to justify more interest-rate reductions, the Greek central-bank chief said in an interview in Copenhagen, where he’s attending meetings of European finance ministers.
“All in all, given the uncertainty, we’re at a good equilibrium – not a perfect equilibrium, but a good one,” Stournaras said. “For the moment there’s no reason to act on rates.”
Officials left borrowing costs unchanged for a second meeting last week, deeming price pressures contained and economic dangers abating. Unless the euro zone experiences a major shock, policy settings are set to remain where they are, people familiar with the situation have told Bloomberg.
“We’re data dependent — if we find in our monetary-policy meetings that things have changed, we’ll change as well,” said Stournaras, who’s seen as a more dovish policymaker. But “it would take a substantial change in our outlook to change our position.”
The remarks echo recent comments from more hawkish officials. Estonia’s Madis Muller told Bloomberg on Friday that the ECB policy is slightly accommodative and there’s no reason to lower borrowing costs any further now.
Others like France’s Francois Villeroy de Galhau, however, have suggested further moves can’t be ruled out, highlighting concerns that inflation may turn out to be even lower than already forecast.
“If there are risks, they’re are slightly more on the downside rather than on the upside given all the uncertainty we have from tariffs and geopolitical tensions,” Stournaras said. “But these risks aren’t severe enough to justify another cut at this moment. The baseline prevails.”
The ECB’s September forecasts see inflation at 1.9% in 2027 after 1.7% next year. December’s will include 2028 — revealing whether policymakers’ job is really done.
“For the moment we think that 2028 inflation is going to be close to 2%, but close from below not from above, and this is somehow a concern but not a serious one for now,” Stournaras said, urging prudence. “If it ends up more meaningfully below target, then that would be.”
At the same time, he said another quarter-point step wouldn’t be a game-changer for the economy. “One more cut won’t have much of an impact in practice, but symbolically, yes, it might,” he said.
He downplayed the idea that a further strengthening of the euro could tilt the balance toward another decrease.
“We’re not in a situation in which a single factor can change our position,” Stournaras said. “We’ll look at all things together — tariffs, the exchange rate, energy prices, food prices and other things such as the savings ratio.”
Turning to France, Stournaras expressed some confidence after the country’s credit rating was downgraded on Friday for the second time in a week on fiscal and political turmoil.
“France is a concern, but markets don’t signal panic,” he said. “There’s a good chance for an agreement that would bring down the deficit and the debt trajectory. That’s part of the reason why I don’t see a broader euro crisis at the moment.”
But politicians should learn the lesson, he said. “Fiscal and financial stability go in hand with political stability.”
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Greece Welcomes More Cross-Border Banking Deals, Stournaras Says
By Sotiris Nikas
Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras said Greece is open to more cross-border banking deals, whether from foreign investors or local lenders expanding abroad.
Stournaras stated that Greece is in favor of cross-border transactions, which helps to implement banking union and capital markets union.
Greek banks are looking to make deals abroad, with examples including Eurobank SA's acquisition of Hellenic Bank and Alpha Bank's takeover of Astrobank, both based in Cyprus.
Greece is open to more cross-border banking deals, whether they stem from foreign investors in its financial sector or from local lenders expanding abroad, Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras said.
“We’re taking a very pro-European view, which helps to implement banking union and capital markets union,” Stournaras said in an interview Saturday. Speaking on the sidelines of an informal meeting of European Union finance ministers in Copenhagen, he added: “We’re in favor of cross-border transactions and I hope that this will prevail elsewhere.”
While policymakers across Europe have been calling for cross-border banking consolidation on the continent, such moves have not always been welcomed by governments. Germany, for instance, opposed Unicredit SpA’s takeover offer for Commerzbank AG, while Unicredit dropped its bid for Italian rival Banco BPM SpA after failing to secure government authorization.
The Greek government and central bank, on the other hand, have warmly received UniCredit’s purchase of a 26% stake in Alpha Bank SA, and its plan to raise the holding to as much as 29.9%.
The government, central bank, the lenders and public opinion have taken “a very, very pro-European approach,” according to Stournaras.
Greek banks too are looking to make deals abroad after years of restructuring. Eurobank SA has fully acquired Cyprus’ Hellenic Bank, while Alpha Bank is in the process of taking over Astrobank, another Cyprus-based lender. CrediaBank signed a put option with HSBC Continental Europe to buy its 70.03% holding in HSBC Bank Malta.
“There is a lot of win-win if we allow cross-border transactions and of course if we finalize banking and capital markets union. There is a lot of upside,” Stournaras said.
Greece is also at the forefront of a Europe-wide effort to return lenders to full private ownership — in little over a year, it exited its stakes in three big lenders and largely divested its holding in a fourth. It still has stakes in National Bank of Greece and CrediaBank, which was formerly known as Attica Bank.
The country’s economy has been recovering from the debt crisis of the past decade, that claimed a quarter of its value. It’s regained its investment grade rating and fully paid back rescue loans from the International Monetary Fund.
Stournaras said Greece’s GDP growth over 2025-2027 would be slightly above 2% on average, about double the European rate. The fiscal relief measures recently announced by the Prime Minister have not been yet taken into account by the new Eurosystem and Bank of Greece forecast, and “will have a positive effect on the country’s economy,” the governor added.
— With assistance from Jana Randow and Mark Schroers