Lack of cash prohibits transactions
A long list of some 2,500 applications from enterprises for international transaction approvals is currently in the hands of the State General Accounting Office’s Banking Transaction Approval Committee. This backlog of requests cannot be satisfied for now due to the limited liquidity available.
The applications concern all kinds of transactions, from the importing of cloth and food to raw materials and spare parts that are absolutely necessary for the smooth operation of both the enterprises and the economy in general. The requests are not just from importing firms but also exporters and industrial units that require the raw materials for production.
Bank officials told Kathimerini that the volume of requests for international transactions is growing by the day while just a few of them can be approved, most of which concern small amounts of money. They stress that available liquidity is at a critically low level and the emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) limit must be extended by at least 2 billion euros for the special committee to be able to approve more applications.
Banks expect that the supply of additional liquidity, which is anticipated once Parliament has approved the necessary measures, will allow the committee to approve more demands, hopefully from Thursday.
