Greek bank deposits rise in November after 5-month decline
Greek bank deposits rose slightly in November after a five-month decline during which austerity-hit Greeks tapped on savings to cope with economic hardship, central bank data showed on Friday.
Businesses and household deposits rose to 161.04 billion euros ($219.95 billion) from 160.38 billion euros in October, the Bank of Greece said.
Greek banks lost around 90 billion euros or a third of their deposit base after the country plunged into a debt crisis in late 2009, partly due to capital flight on fears of a euro zone exit.
About 17 billion euros returned to the banking system in the months following a mid-June 2012 election, which led to the formation of a new government and eased fears that Athens would leave the single currency.
The inflows helped ease banks’ liquidity strains and their dependence on central bank funding but have dried up since March, when Cyprus was bailed out at the expense of bank deposit holders.
[Reuters]
