THE TELEGRAPH: Greek banks are being hit by a wave of redemptions as the country's most wealthy citizens and corporations look to move their money offshore or to international financial institutions perceived as safer homes for their assets.
Wealthy Greeks and companies have been clamouring to move their cash deposits to banks such as HSBC or France's Société Générale, which operate large branches in the country. They are among those to have received several billion euros of new money in recent weeks.
HSBC's private banking in the country is understood to have been flooded with business, while the local operations of several other major international banks have already seen large inflows of money. A spokesman for HSBC declined to comment.
Eurozone countries are still at loggerheads on bailing out the southern European nation, with Germany believed to be in conflict with other countries in the single currency over how much interest to charge on the emergency loans package. Germany wants interest rates of 6pc to 6.5pc, with other countries willing to accept 4pc to 4.5pc interest.
More than €3bn (£2.6bn) of deposits held by Greek households and companies left the country in February, while in January about €5bn of deposits were moved out, according to the latest figures available from the Bank of Greece.
Switzerland, the UK and Cyprus have been the largest recipients of the money, with the wealthiest Greeks looking to move their deposits to Swiss banks accounts to escape the more punitive tax measures many fear will be introduced in the wake of the country's economic crisis. >>> Harry Wilson | Easter Monday, April 05, 2010
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Angst vor Schuldenberg – Griechen plündern ihre Konten: Die Angst vor einer griechischen Staatspleite wächst: Laut einer Commerzbank-Studie haben die Hellenen mehrere Milliarden Euro von ihren Sparkonten abgehoben. Die Aufschläge auf Regierungsanleihen sind auf ein neues Rekordhoch geschnellt - der Euro fällt und fällt. >>> ssu/dpa-AFX/Reuters | Mittwoch, 07. April 2010
