Pages

Welcome, 77 artists, 40 different points of Attica welcomes you by singing Erotokritos an epic romance written at 1713 by Vitsentzos Kornaros

Monday, June 22, 2015

Former Cypriot finance minister says Greek banks will 'close in half an hour' if no deal is reached

Greece's banking system is flirting with collapse as Athens and its European creditors enter emergency talks to secure a bailout deal before a major debt repayment due June 30. As the deadline looms, Greeks are withdrawing money from their bank accounts at an unprecedented rate, draining 4 billion euros from the banking system just last week, Reuters reports. The dramatic outflow forced the European Central Bank (ECB) to approve a second round of emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) on Friday to keep banks afloat. But that funding could be cut if Greece continues to reject demands for austerity measures and defaults on its €1.6 billion loan due to the International Monetary Fund at the end of June. If the ECB does not authorise more emergency liquidity assistance, banks may have to shut down, Cypriot economist Michael Sarris told Reuters. Banks "would have to close in half an hour," Sarris said. Sarris was Cyprus' finance minister in 2013 when the Mediterranean island's banks had to be rescued from a collapse. Strict limits on the amount of cash that could be withdrawn from banks, known as capital controls, had to be implemented to prevent a bank run. Greece has said it will not impose capital controls, according to Reuters, though a report last week suggested other European countries were ready to pull the trigger. Greece this weekend submitted a new set of proposals to unlock €7.2 billion ($8.2 billion, £5.16 billion) in bailout money, and it is meeting with European leaders in Brussels on Monday to discuss the details.Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: 'Shark Tank' investor Daymond John reveals the one thing in business more important than money


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT feedproxy.google.com