Reasonable compromise

The slow pace in resolving the issue of nonperforming loans was not only due to the complexity of the issue; rather, the obstacles seem to have been the result of pre-election concerns.

The formula that was forged at the last minute – after a compromise was reached between the Greek government and the country’s systemic banks – appears to avoid the main political dangers in the runup to the elections while at the same time addressing the original objective: to offer protection to genuinely vulnerable borrowers while at the same time avoiding further damage to the already fragile banking system.

In hindsight, the whole issue appears to have been overdramatized for no real reason.