Greek banks reopen but keep cash limits

German Chancellor Angela Merkel ruled out “a classic haircut” – a markdown of Greece’s debts.

The shutdown since June 29 is estimated to have cost the economy some 3.0 billion euros ($3.3 billion) in market shortages and export disruption.

This is why the banks closed, to stop people taking their cash out, this is also why you can not transfer money out of Greece to somewhere safer.

The government is meanwhile expected to make a 4.2-billion euro payment Monday to the European Central Bank (ECB), made possible by the granting of a short-term loan of 7.16 billion euros by the European Union on Friday.

Speaking to ARD TV, Merkel claimed she could foresee reduced interest rates and extended maturity dates, the BBC reports, once the latest bailout proposal was worked out.

Still, strict controls on the amounts individuals can withdraw remain and new austerity taxes demanded by the country’s European creditors mean that most everyday items are more expensive – from coffee to taxis to cooking oil.

Maria had come to settle an electricity bill she had been unable to pay during the bank closure, while Grigoris, a 76-year-old pensioner, was seeking to withdraw the new maximum cash allowance for the week.

“I can’t put up my prices because I’ll have no customers at all“, he said, adding that sales have slid by around 80 percent since banking restrictions were imposed June 29.

On the other hand, if everyone continues to scoop as much cash out of the banks as they’re able to then we can conclude that the problem isn’t solved.

In downtown Athens, people queued up in an orderly fashion as the banks unlocked their doors at 8 a.m., taking a number and reading the paper as they waited for their turn at the till. “That era is over”.

Greeks also had to contend with further hikes in sales tax on Monday, which aim to raise around 800 million euros a year for the government in Athens.

Deposit packing containers are usually not affected by the capital restrictions and shoppers can subsequently take no matter they need from them, financial institution officers stated.

Dombrovskis defended the choice to grant Greece bridge financing regardless that the Greek parliament had not but handed its entire reform program, saying that the funds have been essential to forestall the nation from sliding into insolvency and had exclusively been granted as soon as the Greek parliament had handed some reforms?.

The debt deal last week that leads to the finalization of a third bailout by autumn includes more harsh measures. But it has expressed doubts on the measures that Greece’s European creditors are demanding without significant debt relief for Athens.

In exchange, Greece is hoping to receive loans of up to 86 billion euros. In return for the cash, successive governments have had to enact harsh austerity measures to try to get public finances into shape.

Though the annual deficit has reduced dramatically, the country’s debt burden has actually risen to around 180 percent of Greece’s annual GDP from 120 percent because the economy is around 25 percent smaller. There’s been an agreement passed as of last week by the Greek government to move towards a third bailout.

On July 22, the parliament will vote on the next set of reforms, which are expected to be approved with the support of pro-euro opposition parties, as it happened last week.

Greek banks reopened on Monday after a three-week holiday introduced to avert a collapse of the banking system amidst fears of an imminent default and Grexit.

Greece reopened its banks Monday morning in an attempt to show citizens that the worst of the crisis is over.

On Friday, he dismissed cabinet-level dissenters by a reshuffle.