## Greece: Selected Issues

_IMF Staff Country Reports, February 7, 2017_

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [Greece: Selected Issues](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/cr/issues/2017/02/07/greece-selected-issues-44631)

## Other formats

- [Markdown version](/en/publications/cr/issues/2017/02/07/greece-selected-issues-44631/index.md)
- [Structured JSON version](/en/publications/cr/issues/2017/02/07/greece-selected-issues-44631/index.json)
- [Bundle manifest](/en/publications/cr/issues/2017/02/07/greece-selected-issues-44631/bundle-manifest.json)

## Bibliographic details
- Published: February 7, 2017
- Series: IMF Staff Country Reports
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781475575743.002

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### Executive summary
- The Selected Issues paper analyzes insolvency and enforcement issues in Greece.
- The Greek insolvency and creditor rights framework has improved since the onset of the crisis as a result of successive reforms.
- Nonetheless, the framework remains underutilized, fragmented, and distortive, and is not supported by an adequate institutional setting.
- Many reforms undertaken in recent years were not part of a coordinated and comprehensive nonperforming loan resolution strategy, but were instead piecemeal and taken without proper stakeholder consultation and impact analysis.
- Frequent and uncoordinated reforms have undermined legal predictability and certainty.
- If left unaddressed, this situation of distress affects enterprises, households and financial and public creditors by preventing investment, credit, and consumption from recovering.

### Key findings
- Improvements have occurred in the insolvency and creditor rights framework since the crisis, driven by successive reforms.
- The framework remains:
  - underutilized,
  - fragmented,
  - distortive,
  - unsupported by an adequate institutional setting.
- Reforms were often:
  - piecemeal,
  - implemented without proper stakeholder consultation,
  - implemented without impact analysis,
  - not part of a coordinated and comprehensive nonperforming loan resolution strategy.
- Frequent and uncoordinated reforms have undermined legal predictability and certainty.

### Consequences and risks
- Continued distress in the insolvency and enforcement framework risks:
  - preventing investment from recovering,
  - preventing credit from recovering,
  - preventing consumption from recovering,
  - adversely affecting enterprises, households, and financial and public creditors.

### Implied policy directions (as indicated by the analysis)
- Establish a coordinated and comprehensive nonperforming loan resolution strategy.
- Improve stakeholder consultation and conduct impact analysis prior to reforms.
- Strengthen the institutional setting supporting insolvency and creditor rights.
- Restore legal predictability and certainty by reducing frequent, uncoordinated reforms.

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## Content in this bundle

- **Country Report**
  - [Country Report (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/cr/2017/cr1741.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [Country Report (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/cr/2017/cr1741.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/cr/issues/2017/02/07/greece-selected-issues-44631_