Deposits shrink by 4.7 bln in a month
Greek bank clients are continuing to withdraw their savings owing to increasing pressures from the crisis in the market and growing tax burdens, with the country?s deposits balance declining by 4.7 billion euros in February from the previous month, according to data released on Wednesday by the European Central Bank.
The figures showed that deposits dropped to 170.1 billion euros last month, from 174.8 billion in January, representing a 2.7 percent decline in just one month.
On an annual basis, bank deposits have shrunk by 18 percent, a rate far greater than that of other European countries in austerity programs: In Spain deposits have dropped by 4.5 percent on a yearly basis and in Ireland by 3.3 percent, while in Portugal deposits grew by 3.1 percent.
