How long? Not long

The bundesbank’s report on the German situation contains an enlightening statement on the situation in Greece (ht alphaville).

Current developments in Greece are extremely worrying. Greece is threatening not to implement the reform and consolidation measures that were agreed in return for the large-scale aid programmes.

This jeopardises the continued provision of assistance. Greece would have to bear the consequences of such a scenario.

When the Eurosystem provided Greece with large amounts of liquidity, it trusted that the programmes would be implemented and thereby ultimately assumed considerable risks. In the light of the current situation, it should not significantly increase these risks. Instead, the parliaments and governments of the member states should decide on the manner in which any further financial assistance is provided and therefore whether the associated risks should be assumed.

Greece needs to find ~12bn of savings by the end of June – doesn’t sound like the Germans have a sense of humour about their ‘issues’.

Just one of the problems with having a comptroller with a pain based sense of humour.