July bank deposits drop by 160 mln euros
Greek bank deposits fell again in July after rising for the previous two months according to data released by the Bank of Greece on Friday.
Business and household deposits feel by 160 million euros (0.13 precent) on a month-on-month basis to 122.58 billion euros, the lowest figure since November 2013. In June, they had risen by 1.04 billion euros to 122.74 billion euros.
Deposits have been slow to return to the Greek banking system after the capital flight last year amid the uncertain political and economic climate. Savers have since been reluctant to return their money to the banking system.
Between December 2014 and July last year, 42 billion euros left the Greek banking system, as a result of which capital controls were introduced on June 28, 2015. This stemmed the flow, but left the banks heavily dependent on emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) from the Bank of Greece. Banks still remain dependent on central bank borrowing to make up the shortfall from missing funds.
Capital controls were further eased last month, and banks are offering higher interest rates to attract savers back.
