Contrary to previous reports, the Greek Central Bank had sufficient funds to keep ATMs operating yesterday.
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But they also said talks to avert it would be easier without ex- Greek Finance Minister Varoufakis, an avowed “erratic Marxist” economist who infuriated fellow euro zone finance ministers with his casual style and indignant lectures.
The European Central Bank’s governing council chose to maintain the emergency liquidity assistance keeping Greek banks afloat at the level set on June 26, the Frankfurt-based bank said in a statement. “The banks are living day-to-day and hand-to-mouth”, Psaropoulos said.
Video: What Next For Greece?
British Chancellor George Osborne told MPs the Government would “do whatever necessary to protect the UK’s economic security” following the vote.
Today marks another Eurogroup meeting with finance ministers and a eurozone summit scheduled for after – the idea being that today will be a day of action, and a deal will be made. If the banks fail, it would bring Greece’s economy to a halt, raising the risk of a humanitarian crisis if citizens lost access to food and medicine.
Mr Tsipras met on Monday with the leaders of six of the seven parties represented in Parliament at the presidential palace.
He also chatted on the phone with French President Francois Hollande and Russian President Vladimir Putin. But the practical implications of this kind of parallel currency in Greece would be hard, particularly given the uncertainty about whether the IOUs could ever be repaid. However there are huge practical complications here too and significant losses in the purchasing power of Greek people and the value of their savings, as the new currency would fall sharply against the euro.
Greece’s financial system has been at the heart of the current crisis, haemorrhaging deposits as relations between the radical left-wing government of Tsipras and its creditors worsened.
Sigmar Gabriel, the German vice-chancellor, said the landslide rejection of European Union austerity demands in the Greek referendum changed nothing, demanding that the left-wing Syriza Government must accept further belt-tightening without any prospect of debt relief if it wishes to remain in the eurozone.
The increased haircut on the bank collateral means the banks are likely to run out of cash quickly, increasing pressure on the government to reach agreement with its creditors.
While thousand of Greeks took to the street to celebrate the results, the country is still facing overwhelming public debt and a possible exit from the eurozone.
Play video “Greek PM Reacts To Referendum”.
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On 3 July, the head of Greece’s banking association said the banks had a liquidity cushion of €1bn but that funding beyond Monday depended on the ECB.
