Printing money: How to create a currency
June's election handed a narrow election victory to the pro-bailout New Democracy party, preserving the deal that guarantees the country access to vital eurozone funds. But fears that Greece can stick to the exacting conditions of that deal remain. If the European Union and IMF-backed reform programme falters in future, then Greece might still have to look for a new currency. It would not be a simple case of resurrecting Greece's old currency, the drachma. Changing currency is a complicated process that would take at least six months and probably much longer. Over the last 20 years at the International Monetary Fund, Warren Coats has advised numerous countries on how to create currencies. His clients have included nations that emerged from the Soviet Union including Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Mr Coats has also helped Iraq and Afghanistan and, most recently, Southern Sudan to launch new money. He says there are three phases to the process. Currency d
