After the Greek government had promised that banks would open on Tuesday, July 7, a second bank holiday extension was officially announced on Wednesday and the European Central Bank (ECB) will keep the Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) to Greece at the same level of 88.6 billion euros until Monday. According to Bloomberg, the ECB Governing Council made the decision in a phone conference on Wednesday and is scheduled to meet again on Monday. The final deadline to reach an agreement between Greece and its creditors is Sunday, July 12. The first extension was announced on Monday, with banks scheduled to open on Thursday. Banks will now remain closed until Monday, while the daily maximum withdrawal limit will remain at 60 euros. Those on unemployment benefits, pensioners without ΑΤΜ cards and pensioners abroad are eligible to collect an extra 120 euros. The decision was ratified by Deputy Finance Minister Nadia Valavani. Furthermore, according to sources, those traveling abroad can carry a maximum of 1,000 euros per person. The limit was previously 10,000 euros. Earlier in the day, Deputy Finance Minister Dimitris Mardas’ meeting with Greek bankers that was scheduled for 5 p.m. was cancelled. During a radio interview on Tuesday, Alternate Administrative Reform Minister Giorgos Katrougalos had warned that banks were unlikely to open for the rest of the week.
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