Courtesy of Mish.
I have been wondering when the ECB would finally pull the plug and put a stop to the ELA.
Today, amid an accelerating run on Greek banks, the ECB capped the ELA.
The Guardian has a Live-Update on the crisis.
Here is the key point “No more extra emergency funding to Greece’s banks, despite steady outflow of deposits since crisis escalated.“
Capital Controls, Bank Holiday Coming
Economics professor Karl Whelan says Capital Controls Coming
Professor Karl Whelan of University College Dublin just launched a blogpost which explains why he thinks some Greek banks won’t open tomorrow.
The ECB’s decision to cap emergency liquidity at its current level means capital controls are now coming, he argues.
That’s because commercial bank reserves have probably been significantly depleted by the rush to some cash machines this weekend.
So, they have little left in cash or reserves at the central bank, leaving them exposed when they open their doors on Monday morning.
Professor Whelan explains:
In that case, the only way the Greek banks could finance the (presumably very large) demands for withdrawals on Monday would have been to get access to additional funds from the Bank of Greece in the form of additional ELA. That will not be possible now, so most likely the banks will not open on Monday….
