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The experts from Eurobank calculated a 2,8% decrease in the GDP for 2009 in their annual report for the results of the development of the Greek economy. The predictions of the bankers for 2010 are even more pessimistic taking into consideration the additional economic measures introduced by the government of George Papandreou in the last month. The increase of the VAT as well as the additional increase of the excise duties on fuels put pressure on the calculation of the prices of all products on the market which will lead to the expected increase of the index of the consumer prices to 2,7% during this year from the 1,7% for 2009. The cuts of the salaries of the public sector employees as well as the overall rise in the cost of living will affect in a negative way the available incomes in 2010 are saying the analyzers from Eurobank. In the report the specialists predict a 6,2% decrease of the credit consumption, a 2,5% increase in the export and a decrease of the import by 10,5% for this year. They also express disturbing expectations for the increase of the foreign debt from the current 113,4% of the GDP to 133% of the GDP by 2012 and this is only in case the government does not take any additional restrictive measures for this period.

The expectations of the Bank of Greece regarding the intensifying of the recession are a bit more positive. They forecast a negative economic growth of 2% as opposed to the forecasts of Eurobank for almost three percent. The central national bank predicts that in 2010 the inflation will grow to 3% and the total number of the people working in the country is expected to decrease with at least 1,5%. According to the calculations of the Bank of Greece the salaries of the people employed in the public sector will register a decrease of 9,5%, and the gross salary in the country will decrease by 0,9% for the first time in the past 35 years. “The change in the economic policy of the country is not easy and it will not give results in the short term. Just as big efforts are required to stop the vicious politics which lead Greece to a dead-end street,” says Georgios Provopoulos, chairman of the Bank of Greece.