Greece ends nearly 10 years of bailouts — this is what it means
Greece ends nearly 10 years of bailouts — this is what it means · CNBC
  • The yield on the 10-year Greek bond is at about 4.3 percent — the highest across the region.

  • Analysts have pointed out that Greece ends this third rescue with a "massive cash buffer"— meaning that it won't need market help for nearly two years.

Monday is an historic day for Greece as nearly a decade of external financial help comes to an end.

The Syriza-led government has managed to end a third bailout rescue, implementing all the measures demanded by creditors, despite earlier doubts whether the inexperienced party would manage to complete the arduous task.

"Today we celebrate the end of a very long and difficult journey," European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis told CNBC via email.

"What matters now is to build on this achievement by sticking to sound fiscal and economic policies," he added.

However, some analysts argue that this is more a "symbolic" moment and there is plenty yet to do to improve the Greek economy. "Both the EU and the Greeks will try to put a positive spin on the end of the bailout, but there is little to celebrate," Constantine Fraser, European analyst at research firm TS Lombard, told CNBC via email.

CNBC looks at what the completion of Greece's third financial rescue means and how markets are set to react .

What does ending a bailout program mean?

As of Monday August 20, Greece will be a self-financing nation, so will no longer receive regular financial tranches from its European creditors.

As a result, whenever Athens finds it suitable, Greece will be able to tap financial markets to fund its activities — just like any other country in a relatively healthy economic situation.

Why is it important?

The first time that Greece asked for financial help was in 2010, when the country's public debt pile became so high that investors were no longer willing to keep financing Athens.

Since then, Greece has relied on European creditors and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to keep its finances afloat. The financial crisis was perpetuated by a number of political events, including the historical spat between former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis and other euro zone finance ministers.

As a result, Greece is the last country in the euro zone to end a financial assistance program on the back of the sovereign debt crisis. Portugal, Ireland and Spain (Madrid only requested some help towards its banking system) have all came back from the brink.

After eight years of economic turmoil, Greece can finally claim financial independence. And European institutions are also happy to officially turn the page on the financial crisis that seriously dented the continent's economy.