(ANSA) - TRIESTE - Bank of Greece governor, Yannis Stournaras, criticized Greece's political system and institutional setup when analysing the reasons of the country's economic problems, Ibna reported. Speaking to Kathimerini newspaper, Stournaras said "we were in a boat that was taking on water and instead of taking clear to plug the hole we were stabbing each other". The Governor added that "we suffer from a lack of stable institutions, a lack of trust, a lack of courage of the political system to tell people the truth".

The big question is, according to Stournaras, former Greece's Finance Minister in the Samaras administration, why other countries exited their bailout programs before Greece.

Stournaras mentioned GDP growth of 8% in 2016 for Ireland, as well as economic improvement in Cyprus, Spain and Portugal.

Governor's comments come as the Greek government is still struggling to arrive at an agreement with the country's creditors that will see the ongoing review of the bailout program - which has been stalled for over one year - conclude successfully. According to the BoG, Greeks withdrew 750 million euros from their bank accounts in February and cash outflows will continue to rise steadily in March due to the prolonged delays of the evaluation completion and growing concern about the overall risk of the Greek economy. (ANSA).