ECB will cease funding if Greece halts or renegotiates program, until deal concluded

Mario Draghi and the ECB’s statement details

“Exceptions” which may lead to Greece’s exemption from the ECB’s fiscal program which has programmed a mammoth-package of 1.1 trillion euros between March 2015 and September 2016, are included in the QE (Quantitative Easing) decision.

Even though the ECB’s president, Mario Draghi, stated that there are no special rules for Greece, but rules that apply to everyone, the characteristics of the deal on the prerequisites for a country’s financing are absolutely clear.

Specifically for a country which is in a program (i.e. Greece), it is clear that the bonds purchase in the secondary market is to be postponed, if the current fiscal program is being reexamined by the Troika.

In simpler terms, for the duration of a country’s request for a reevaluation of agreement terms, fiscal aid can be postponed and will only be continued if a positive deal is made.

The ECB’s statement also includes the following:

“Securities that do not achieve the CQS3 rating will be eligible, as long as the Eurosystem’s minimum credit quality threshold is not applied for the purpose of their collateral eligibility. Moreover, during reviews in the context of financial assistance programmes for a euro area Member State, eligibility would be suspended and would resume only in the event of a positive outcome of the review”.