Abstract
The standardized system of coinage originated in the Greek kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor around 600 B.C., during the reign of King Alyattes. The precursors to Greek banks were the temples of ancient Greece. However, while the temples provided secure storage, they did not pay any interest on their deposits. The forerunner of the Greek central bank was the National Bank of Greece, which gradually acquired a monopoly over the issue of bank notes in the country. The Bank of Greece, established in response to a proposal from the League of Nations, began operations in 1928 as the official Greek central bank. During the Second World War, the governor of the bank went into exile and its gold reserves were transferred first to South Africa and then to London for safekeeping. The independence of the Bank of Greece increased significantly due to reforms undertaken in the 1980s. The Greek financial sector was deregulated in the 1980s, which also changed the role of the Bank of Greece as the financial regulator. Pursuant to accession to the European Union, amendments passed in 1998 and 2000 explicitly stated price stability as the primary objective of the bank. As with the rest of the Eurozone, monetary policy in Greece is now under the purview of the ECB.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsNotes
- 1.
Robinson, E. S. G. (1951). The coins from the Ephesian Artemision reconsidered. The Journal of Hellenic Studies, 71, 156–167.
- 2.
Oldest coins. oldestcoins.reidgold.com. http://oldestcoins.reidgold.com/article.html (accessed January 12, 2018).
- 3.
Which Greek bank is considered the largest depends on whether the banks are listed by market capitalization, deposits, assets or loans. However, the National Bank of Greece is among the top three by any of these measures.
- 4.
National Bank of Greece. Historical Archive of NBG. https://ha.nbg.gr/el (accessed January 17, 2018).
- 5.
The old drachma was replaced by the new drachma at this time, with 1.12 old drachma being equal to one new drachma, which was the LMU franc. The LMU franc was based on the specifications of the French franc. The monetary union followed a bimetallic standard with a gold-to-silver ratio of 15.5 to one, which was the standard for the French franc, and required that all the contracting states strike freely exchangeable gold coins and silver coins based on these common specifications.
- 6.
Russo-Turkish War 1877–78. moneyingreece.org. http://moneyingreece.org/timeline#74 (accessed January 15, 2018).
- 7.
The troika of the foreign bondholders arrives in Athens. moneyingreece.org. http://moneyingreece.org/timeline#96 (accessed January 17, 2018).
- 8.
NBG-PBE merger. moneyingreece.org. http://moneyingreece.org/timeline#109 (accessed January 17, 2018).
- 9.
Bank of Greece. The Establishment and the first years. http://www.bankofgreece.gr/Pages/en/Bank/History/foundation.aspx (accessed January 15, 2018).
- 10.
Bank of Greece. Statute of the Bank of Greece. http://www.bankofgreece.gr/Pages/en/Bank/LegalF/statute.aspx (accessed January 16, 2018).
- 11.
Currently the share capital of the Bank of Greece is 111,243,361.60 euros, divided into 19,864,886 shares at a nominal value of 5.60 euros each. The share capital of the Bank may be increased by a decision of the General Council subject to the approval of the Greek government. The same procedure shall be followed when deciding a share split and determining the nominal value of the resulting parts, each of them forming a share.
- 12.
Bank of Greece. The Establishment and the first years. http://www.bankofgreece.gr/Pages/en/Bank/History/foundation.aspx (accessed January 15, 2018).
- 13.
Bank of Greece. The Bank’s History. http://www.bankofgreece.gr/Pages/en/Bank/History/default.aspx (accessed January 15, 2018).
- 14.
Bank of Greece. The History of the Central Building. http://www.bankofgreece.gr/Pages/en/Bank/History/building.aspx (accessed January 15, 2018).
- 15.
Bank of Greece. Historical Review. http://www.bankofgreece.gr/Pages/en/Bank/History/historicalreview.aspx (accessed January 16, 2018).
- 16.
Bank of Greece. Bank of Greece Administration and Decision-Making Bodies and Executives. http://www.bankofgreece.gr/Pages/en/Bank/Organization/governingbodies/default.aspx (accessed January 22, 2018).
- 17.
Bank of Greece. Branches, Outlets, Agencies. http://www.bankofgreece.gr/Pages/en/Bank/Organization/buildings/branches.aspx (accessed January 15, 2018).
- 18.
Bank of Greece. Statute of the Bank of Greece. http://www.bankofgreece.gr/Pages/en/Bank/LegalF/statute.aspx (accessed January 16, 2018).
- 19.
Bank of Greece. Statute of the Bank of Greece. (2016). http://www.bankofgreece.gr/BogDocumentEn/BoG_Statute_Tenth_Edition.pdf (accessed January 16, 2018).
- 20.
Bank of Greece. The Tasks of the Bank of Greece. http://www.bankofgreece.gr/Pages/en/Bank/responsibilities.aspx (accessed January 19, 2018).
- 21.
Ibid.
- 22.
Bank of Greece. Macroprudential Policy. http://www.bankofgreece.gr/Pages/en/MacroprudentialPolicy/default.aspx (accessed January 16, 2018).
- 23.
Bank of Greece. HDAT. http://www.bankofgreece.gr/Pages/en/Markets/HDAT/default.aspx (accessed January 25, 2018).
- 24.
Skoularikis, P. (2001). The institutional politics of Central Bank Independence in France, Greece and the U.K. (Doctoral dissertation, London School of Economics and Political Science (United Kingdom)). http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/1699/1/U176354.pdf (accessed January 24, 2018).
- 25.
Bank of Greece. Statute of the Bank of Greece. (2016). http://www.bankofgreece.gr/BogDocumentEn/BoG_Statute_Tenth_Edition.pdf (accessed January 16, 2018).
- 26.
Nechio, F. (2010). The Greek Crisis: Argentina Revisited? Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Economic Letter, 33.
- 27.
Alderman, L., Kanter, J., Yardley, J., Ewing, J., Kitsantonis, N., Daley, S., Russell, K., Higgins, A. & Eavis, P. (2016, June 17). Explaining Greece’s Debt Crisis. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/business/international/greece-debt-crisis-euro.html (accessed January 28, 2018).
- 28.
Nechio, F. (2010). The Greek Crisis: Argentina Revisited? Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Economic Letter, 33.
- 29.
Alderman, L., Kanter, J., Yardley, J., Ewing, J., Kitsantonis, N., Daley, S., Russell, K., Higgins, A. & Eavis, P. (2016, June 17). Explaining Greece’s Debt Crisis. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/business/international/greece-debt-crisis-euro.html (accessed January 28, 2018).
- 30.
Traynor, I. (2015, July 6). Greek crisis: European leaders scramble for response to referendum no vote. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/06/greek-crisis-european-leaders-scramble-for-response-to-referendum-no-vote (accessed January 28, 2018).
- 31.
Bank of Greece. The Chronicle of the Great Crisis: The Bank of Greece 2008–2013. (2014). http://www.bankofgreece.gr/BogEkdoseis/The%20Chronicle%20Of%20The%20Great%20Crisis.pdf (accessed January 29, 2018).
- 32.
Seyler, E., & Levendis, J. (2013). What was the role of monetary policy in the greek financial crisis? South-Eastern Europe Journal of Economics, 11(2), 117–137.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2018 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ray Chaudhuri, R. (2018). Greece. In: Central Bank Independence, Regulations, and Monetary Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58912-5_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58912-5_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-58911-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-58912-5
eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)