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Banks see outflows pickup before elections
Greek banks have seen a marked increase in the pace of bank
withdrawals as a June 17 general election nears and fears grow that
Greece could be forced out of the euro, senior bankers said on
Wednesday.
Combined daily deposit outflows from the major Greek
banks have reached 500-800 million euros over the past few days, with
the pace picking up as the election draws closer and rising noticeably
on Tuesday, two bankers said.
Deposit outflows at smaller and medium sized banks were running at 10-30 million euros.
"This
includes cash withdrawals, wire transfers and investments into money
market funds, German Bunds, U.S. Treasuries and EIB bonds,» said one
banker, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Fears that Greece may
have to quit the single currency and return to a weak drachma have
fuelled a steady stream of withdrawals by companies and businesses
alarmed at the prospect of seeing the value of their deposits cut
sharply.
The result of the election, called after a previous vote
in May failed to produce a government, remains too close to call, with
the conservative New Democracy party running neck and neck with radical
leftist SYRIZA.
Both groups say they want Greece to remain in the
single currency but SYRIZA has pledged to scrap a 130 billion euro
bailout agreement signed in March which has imposed some of the toughest
austerity measures seen in Europe in decades.
The European Union
and International Monetary Fund have warned that Greece, which has only
enough cash to last for a few weeks, must stick to the conditions of the
bailout deal or risk seeing funds cut off.
A third Greek banker
said the withdrawals were manageable and were matched by the Emergency
Liquidity Assistance programme provided by the European Central Bank.
"We have stable outflows on a daily basis, which are manageable and covered by the ELA facility,» the banker said.
[Reuters] | 
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