Why Are “Bank Holidays” Always Announced on Sunday?…” Think it can’t happen here? Think again.”
By: David Smith
GoldSeek.com
Thursday, 27 August 2015
On Sunday, June 29, the Associated Press ran the following headline: “Greek Banks will not open Monday.”
After a lengthy cabinet session, it was decided that Greek banks would remain closed for 6 working days, along with restrictions on cash withdrawals. In addition, financial sector officials confirmed the Athens Stock Exchange would not open the following week.
ATM withdrawals were capped at 60 euros ($66) per day. Web bill-paying banking was allowed, but moving money out of the country was prohibited. A side notice reported that Greeks could not remove cash from safety deposit boxes.
A Goldseek.com column at the time commented presciently that “the convenience of ease of access to a local safe deposit box can be offset by the fact that governments and banks can lay claim to their contents at the stroke of a pen. It would be unwise to view Greece as an exceptional case.”
Greeks who paid attention were aware months beforehand that a “bank holiday” could be in the cards. But for most people (ourselves included?), there is an inertia in the human condition. It tends to express itself as “deer in the headlights,” a feeling of being overwhelmed, or just plain denial.
According to the Financial Times, “Greek deposits are guaranteed up to €100,000, in line with EU banking directives…” But with few deposits over €100,000 left in the banks after six months of capital flight, an analyst quipped, “it makes sense for the banks to consider imposing a haircut on small depositors as part of a recapitalization… It could even be flagged as a one-off tax.”
One bank spoke of withholding (stealing) at least 30% on deposits above 8,000 euros ($8,800). This is known as a bank “bail-in,” and it’s a scheme that our own FDIC now has at the ready to rob depositors if needed in the next crisis.
Think it can’t happen here? Think again.
The Rest…HERE
