Greece's central bank chief urges for conclusion of bailout review

Greece's central bank chief Yannis Stournaras urged on Saturday for the conclusion of the pending Greek bailout review to push the ailing economy further on the path of recovery and growth.

"The review must close with no further delay. It should have closed yesterday," the Governor of the central Bank of Greece said, underling the urgency for results during his speech at economic forum at Delphi, 120 kilometers west of Athens.

The second review of Greece's third bailout since 2010 should have been wrapped up a year ago, according to the initial schedule, but has dragged on amid differences on the next round of austerity and reform measures and IMF's role in the program.

Athens now expects that an agreement can be reached by the next Euro Group meeting on March 20.

Further delay will undermine the positive forecasts for growth in coming months, the banker warned.

Stournaras also called for fewer taxes to ease the burden off the shoulders of recession-hit Greek households and enterprises, and smaller primary surplus targets for the first years after the post-bailout period after 2018 to allow some breathing space.

"The positive scenario for Greek economy requires the completion of the bailout review within this month and swift actions by the government to put an end to any discussion about Grexit," the former Governor of the central Bank of Greece George Provopoulos said, addressing the same forum.

Prolonged uncertainty will harm the prospects of the Greek economy, the Greek banking system and may lead to a new recapitalization of Greek banks, the fourth since 2010, he warned. Enditem