Greece Will Close Banks to Stem Flood of Withdrawals
New York Times - Jun 28, 2015
Greece will keep its banks closed on Monday and place restrictions on the withdrawal and transfer of money, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said in a televised address on Sunday night, as Athens tries to avert a financial collapse.
The government’s decision to close banks temporarily and impose other so-called capital controls — and to keep the stock market closed on Monday — came hours after the European Central Bank said it would not expand an emergency loan program that has been propping up Greek banks in recent weeks while the government was trying to reach a new debt deal with international creditors.
The debt negotiations broke down over the weekend after Mr. Tsipras said he would let the Greek people decide whether to accept the creditors’ latest offer. That referendum vote is to be held next Sunday, after the current bailout program will have expired.
Mr. Tsipras in his televised address criticized the European Central Bank for declining to increase its emergency loans to Greek banks.
“It is clearer than ever that this decision has no other goal apart from blackmailing the Greek people and obstructing the smooth democratic procedure of the referendum,†he said.
Mr. Tsipras’s remarks did not include details of the bank closings and other controls on the movement of money, which the government was expected to explain later in the evening. Greece, though, appears to be taking steps similar to ones by Cyprus in 2013 to avoid a bank collapse.