– ‘Bank holiday’ extended –
Greece’s banks were forced to shut their doors and limit withdrawals on June 28 after Athens’s huge EU bailout expired and the country became the first developed nation to default on a payment to the IMF.
On Wednesday, the finance ministry extended “the bank holiday” until the following Monday, while a ministry source said withdrawals would stay capped at 60 euros to avert a cash shortage.
Also on Wednesday, the ECB decided to leave the limit on its stop-gap credit facility that has been providing emergency liquidity to Greek banks unchanged at 89 billion euros, a banking source said.
The fallout from the debt crisis has hit Greece’s vital tourist industry, which has seen last-minute reservations plunge 30 percent, the Greek Tourism Confederation said.
Experts have also warned the crisis could impede Greece’s ability to cope with the tens of thousands of migrants flooding across its borders looking for a better life in Europe.
Greece has had two international bailouts worth 240 billion euros since 2010, the last of which expired on June 30.
