admin
Greek banks will remain closed until Monday, the country’s finance ministry has said, as the government raced to come up with a new proposal to present to creditors for a new bailout deal.
“The bank holiday is extended to July 13,” the finance ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
The banks have been closed since June 28, with withdrawals by Greeks limited to 60 euros ($66) to stave off a liquidity shortage after the government called a referendum on EU-IMF creditors’ terms for an international bailout. A ministry source also said withdrawal limits would remain unchanged.
The referendum turned out a 61-percent result against the creditors’ latest bailout proposals, souring relations between Athens and many of its European peers. The capital controls have kept Greek banks going but authorities have struggled to keep ATMs supplied with cash, and additional obstacles to imports have led to fears of shortages in goods and medicine.
Midnight yesterday was the deadline for Greece to submit new bailout plans to unlock billions of euros of fresh aid desperately needed to keep its struggling economy afloat. Sunday is the deadline set by the EU to agree on a bailout deal with Athens in return for economic reforms.
“The Greek government will tomorrow file new concrete proposals, credible reforms, for a fair and viable solution,” Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told the members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on Wednesday. — AFP
Online Reporter