The latter, which represents the democratically elected governments, has decided not to grant a bridging loan to the Greek government: what right then would the ECB, which does not hold a political mandate, have to do so?
Such a rise in interest rates might also tend to slow the increase in the value of real estate and equities, eliminating some of the cushion that households currently might count on from past high rates of capital gains and reducing the impetus to consumption spending that mortgage refinancings have in recent years permitted.