NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — If you’re just catching up to it, here are the latest developments in the Greek economic crisis — and what you need to know.
1) Greeks went to the polls Sunday for the third time this year. Voters decided who should deal with the economic crisis, keep the country’s bailout on track, and cope with the challenge of thousands of refugees flocking to its shores.
2) Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, of the left-wing Syriza party, appears to be keeping his post after he called the snap election in August. The New Democracy party conceded defeat after Sunday’s voting.
3) The next step for Tsipras will be to form a new coalition government. Earlier this year, he had to rely on opposition votes to get vital reforms and austerity measures through parliament. Early indications are that he will align with the Independent Greeks party to govern.
4) Greece has already received the first part of its third international bailout. The package of European loans is worth up to 86 billion euros ($96 billion). The bailout secures Greece’s membership in the eurozone.
5) But there won’t be a quick fix for Greece’s Depression-like conditions. The European Commission has forecast that Greece’s economy could shrink by another 4% this year. Greeks are currently suffering with an unemployment rate above 25% and the highest poverty rate in the European Union.
5) Eurozone nations, along with the ECB and the International Monetary Fund, have already loaned Greece roughly 233 billion euros in rescue financing since 2010.
6) The IMF won’t take part in the new bailout unless it includes debt relief for Greece. A senior IMF official said this could take the form of longer grace periods, longer payment schedules and lower interest rates — the fund was not insisting on outright cancellation of debt.
7) The country’s banks and stock exchange were forced to close for a number of weeks to prevent a complete financial meltdown. The banks reopened on July 20, although caps on cash withdrawals remain.
The banks are being kept afloat by emergency cash from Europe’s central bank, but urgently need a longer term solution. A large chunk of money from the newest bailout will be used to prop up the banks.
When the Athens stock exchange reopened in early August, shares in Greek banks immediately suffered heavy losses.
8) Greece’s parliament voted through economic and tax reforms in July in order to secure this third bailout. The new government will need to cut spending and bring in more revenue. It will also need to sell some state assets.
9) Greece’s former left-wing government campaigned for months against these reforms. Tsipras said he does not “believe in” the policies, but he would implement them to secure the bailout and keep Greece in the euro.
