ECB: The Greek debt got harder due to the measures for the support of the banks.

According to a study published by the ECB, the national measures that were taken in order to support the banking system added more burdens to the public debt of Greece and Ireland.

In the period between 2008-2014 the public debt of Greece rose by 22,2% of the GNP while Ireland's debt rose by 22,6%. On the other hand the debt of France, Italy and Latvia rose by less than 1% of the GNP.

According to a study, published by the ECB in its monthly bulletin, the financial aid that was given to the banks in the whole of Europe, rose the public debt by 4,8% of the European GNP. That is almost one fifth of the total rise which jumped from 65% to 92%.

The money that were given to the banks account for 8% of the Eurozone GNP while the countries have recovered 40% of those moneys.

The effects of the support towards the banks were particularly grave in the case of Ireland. Greece, Cyprus and Slovenia were hard hit by those measures which cost 8%-13% of the GNP.

At the end of 2014, Greece had the highest percentage of national guarantees to banks. It rose to 28,5% of the Greek GNP while the average is 2,7% for the whole of the Eurozone.

In the bulletin the ECB noted that:”The countries have risen their guarantees in order to secure the citizens deposits and this support might result in higher public costs in the long run”