We all expected it and it has happened. Greek banks will be keeping their doors shut on Monday for an entire week. Piraeus Bank SA Chief Executive Officer Anthimos Thomopoulos told reporters of his decision Sunday after a meeting of the government’s financial-stability committee. And reports are out that the Greek stock market will not be open today either.
Late Sunday, there were reports that about 40% of Greek ATMs had run dry. In any case, the Greek government has imposed capital controls, limiting withdrawals to €60 per person per day. In a televised address, the Greek Prime Ministers promised Greek account holders that their bank deposits “are safe”.
According to Monday’s report in the Kathimerini English Edition, a daily newspaper published in Athens and distributed in Greece and Cyprus exclusively with the International New York Times, Greek banks are expected to remain closed until at least after the July 5 referendum which was summoned by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and its approved by a large majority of the government officials.
Grexit Probable
A majority of Greece’s populace prefers to remain in the eurozone and the consequences of Grexit for world markets could be severe.
“It’s a dark hour for Europe…..nevertheless from where we’re sitting we have a clear conscience,” Greek finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said in an interview with the BBC.
With little hopes for a turn-around by the Prime Minister Tsipris and his government, Asian shares have already showed a heavy selloff in early trade Monday. U.S. stock futures were sharply lower and heavy trading is expected when stock markets open on Wall Street.
However the EUR/USD currency pair has fallen by only 1.15% from last week’s close. Many analysts had expected it to fall further.
