– Greek Deposit Run Accelerates Ahead Of Monday’s Bank Holiday (ZeroHedge, Feb 19, 2015):
Official Greek deposit data began tumbling in December (outflows around EUR3bn), and accelerated in January in the run up to the Syriza election (proxied by JPMorgan at over EUR 12bn). During the last two weeks, however, the absence of ATM lines and visible bank runs has been curiously lacking as, at least on the surface, there appears to be no panic. However, as Dody Tsiantar reports, sources in the Greek banking sector have told Greek newspapers that as much as EUR 25bn euros have left Greek banks since the end of December with outflows surging this week. Perhaps they are getting anxious that authorities will take Cypriot advantage of the Bank Holiday that is planned in Greece on Monday.
As Dody Tsintar reports (via CNBC),
In the midst of the dramatic showdown in Brussels between the new Greek government and its European creditors, many Greek depositors—spooked by the prospect of a Greek default or, worse, an exit from the euro zone and a possible return to the drachma—have been pulling euros out of the nation’s banks in record amounts over the last few days.
The Bank of Greece and the European Central Bank won’t report official cash outflows for January until the end of the month. But sources in the Greek banking sector have told Greek newspapers that as much as 25 billion euros (US $28.4 billion) have left Greek banks since the end of December. According to the same sources, an estimated 900 million euros flowed out of Greek banks on Tuesday alone, the day after the talks broke up in Brussels, sparking fears that measures will be taken to stem the outflow. On Thursday, by mid-afternoon, deposits had shrunk by about 680 million euros (US $77.3 million).
“If outflows reach 1 billion euros, capital controls might need to be imposed,” said Thanasis Koukakis, a financial editor for Estia a conservative daily, and To Vima, an influential Sunday newspaper.
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Of course the surge in ELA funding needs somewhat confirms the much larger than expected deposit outflows.
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One wonders if the seeming standoff between Schaeuble and Varoufakis is making depositors anxious given the planned Bank Holiday in Greece on Monday…
A deal has been reached, the empty US stock market is up triple digits……none of it makes any sense at all, except for one idea that has evolved to me.
The US dollar would die without the EU. It is inevitable the EU is going to shrink and or fall apart……Until technology made it possible for all nations to trade directly with each other using their own currencies, accessing an electronic currency to translate the value of each country’s currency at the time of transaction, the US dollar ruled supreme. All nations had to complete international transactions in dollars. Now, that is no longer true, and 70% of the world has dumped the dollar. BRICS uses an electronic currency for all members.
Iran, Turkey, Qatar are only three middle eastern nations openly adopting BRICS, and it now looks as if OPEC is following suit, doing many deals with Russia and China, obviously not using the dollar with them.
The US dollar is down to 30% of the world economies from 100% in 2010. Australia and New Zealand dumped the dollar in 2011. Russia and China had set up their own trade agreement using their own currencies leaving the dollar out in November 2010, adopting an electronic currency identical to Hugo Chavez’s Sucre. The Sucre was the first electronic currency introduced by Chavez in Spring of 2010. It allowed all members of the tiny South American Trade Alliance to trade with each other using their own currencies, leaving the dollar out. It was tiny, and it flew under US radar.
Now, much of South and Central America have joined with BRICS, the B standing for Brazil. India, China, Russia, Turkey, Iran, Qatar, Canada, Japan, much of the emerging African nations including South Africa, the S in BRICS, all have abandoned the dollar wherever possible.
Cyprus, still a nation in the Euro Zone has offered Russia a base, and any band aid put on Greece cannot stop the inevitable……….too many nations in the Euro are flat broke. Germany, France and the UK are already using swap systems and other ways to avoid using the dollar.
The Euro is struggling to keep Greece in order to keep the walls of financial deception up, with the US is in there pushing them to stay together. Without the Euro, the dollar will collapse, nobody else relies on it any longer. Like the horse and buggy, any world reserve currency is now obsolete thanks to technology.
The world has changed since 2010. That is the pivotal year, the world came to the realization the US would remain corrupt, continue to be an international criminal, attack nations without warning or reason, and destroy stability in countries with which they do not agree. The US has become a rogue nation in the eyes of the world, much like Germany in 1940. Promise one thing, and do another……..never a good idea.
When Hugo Chavez introduced the Sucre to the world in Spring, 2010, had the US still been credible, reasonable and law abiding, the Sucre would never have been adopted and spread around the world. There would have been no need for an alternative to the dollar, it used to be respected and safe to all around the world.
While destroying other countries for corporate enrichment, the dollar has been printed nonstop. Other nations no longer trusted us, and the dollar began to look as if it might become less than sterling soon. The move away from the dollar had to be done mindfully and quietly, they saw what happened to Iraq for suggesting world reserve currency ought to be restored to gold…….the dollar was gold backed when adopted as world reserve currency………..Saddam was defiled and hung in public. The US made it clear what happened to those who posed a threat to their financial worldwide power.
Hugo Chavez moved on the sly with a small organization, so tiny that it flew under US radar. Russia and China adopted it, and quietly recruited other nations to the electronic currency plan….much more convenient than converting to dollars, and a way to avoid the US.
By the time the self serving people in DC realized what had happened, it was too late, they could not fight the entire world. They targeted Russia, but nobody will help them in an endeavor against one of the most popular men on the globe, Vladimir Putin. So, they have tried a number of fool attempts to harm him, every single move has fallen into Putin’s hands………..
I have to laugh in disgust when I remember the fools who thought Obama was a chess player. They would boast he was playing chess while the others in the world played checkers. They had not yet realized the power of a real master chess player…………and like the rest of the fools, realized it far too late.
Russia is again a world power, and the US has nobody but itself to thank. Going after Russian billionaires with threats of confiscation has only caused billions to flow into Russia for safe keeping. The same with organizations. As for the sanctions, it is beyond stupid to put sanctions on nations that stopped using the dollar years ago. Asinine.