Despite the successful conclusion of the ESM programme last August and the Eurogroup debt relief measures, Greek government bonds have still not obtained investment grade status and yields remain elevated and volatile, affected by the recent turbulence in international financial markets and in Italy in particular. 4.
Imagine raising rates with negative inflation and real rates already in double digits! It was precisely these sorts of central bank mistakes that turned sharp downturns into depressions, and then prolonged those depressions. When these mistakes were reversed, countries recovered.22  This is relevant because modern central banks, including the SARB, have policy frameworks to avoid precisely these errors.