Finally banking industry in Greek reopened, Greeks queued outside banks on Monday as they reopened three weeks after closing to stop the system, as collapsing under a flood of withdrawals, the first cautious sign of a return to normal after a deal to start talks on a new package of bailout reforms.
Capital controls still on process to implement, However capital controls will remain and payments and wire transfers abroad will still not be possible — a situation which German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday was "not a normal life" and warranted swift negotiations on a new bailout.
Athens stock market will also remain closed until further notice. Queues formed outside bank branches in central Athens as people waited to take care of business frozen during the three week-long bank holiday.
Limits on cash withdrawals have been made slightly more flexible, with a weekly limit of 420 euros in place of the daily 60 euro limit previously.
"Capital controls and restrictions on withdrawals will remain in place but we are entering a new stage which we all hope will be one of normality," said Louka Katseli, head of the Greek bank association.
Greeks will be able to deposit cheques but not cash, pay bills as well as have access to safety deposit boxes and withdraw money without an ATM card.
Bankers said there may be minor disruptions after the three-week interruption to services but they expected services to resume largely as normal.
"I don't expect major problems, our network and the network of our competitors are ready to serve our clients," said a senior official at Piraeus Bank, one of the big four lenders. "There might be lines because many people will want to withdraw money from their deposit boxes," the official said.
Source: business insider
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