EU governments and the ECB need to bring the “full financial power of Europe” into play to combat the coronavirus crisis and must not repeat the mistakes made during the financial crisis, according to former Irish Central Bank governor Patrick Honohan. In an opinion article in Wednesday’s Irish Times, he says a massive effort is needed to support businesses and individuals hit by the crisis. Governments are also moving to support businesses hit by the crisis and their employees with huge programmes of assistance. The Government is likely to press the banks to offer significant concessions to small businesses on outstanding loans. Already, the Revenue Commissioners have said it is effectively willing to defer VAT payments for SMEs for a period.

Source: The Irish Times March 17, 2020 22:52 UTC