Greek banks dodge disaster after a last minute loan from Europe
Greece averted further financial ruin yesterday after meeting a major €4.2bn (£2.9bn) payment to the European Central Bank (ECB), made possible by a loan from the EU.
If Greece had missed it, the ECB was expected to completely cut off emergency lending to Greek banks, which economists said would be “D-day” for the banking system.
The EU’s €7bn emergency bridging loan is aimed at keeping Greece afloat while it negotiates its third cash-for-reforms bailout deal in five years.
The International Monetary Fund also confirmed Greece had paid its €2bn in arrears, which was initially due at the end of June.
Banks opened for the first time since the end of June yesterday, but are still under restrictions.
Customers are limited to €420 of withdrawals per week, a slight change to the previous withdrawal limit of €60 a day.
Many other financial services also remain restricted. Greeks are still unable to buy shares with the Athens stock exchange staying shut.
The use of credit and debit cards abroad has been restricted and new bank accounts cannot be opened.
The next step in securing a long-term bailout deal is new rules that must be passed by the Greek parliament tomorrow.