Greek Banks Running Out Of Cash Ahead Of Key EU Meeting

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Greece’s banks are quickly running out of cash, as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras prepares to take his latest bailout proposal to the country’s eurozone creditors, days after Greek voters overwhelmingly rejected their latest bailout offer.   Aljazera has more:

Officials on Monday announced that the banks would remain closed until Thursday, as the European Central Bank (ECB) slowly tightened a noose on their funding. The daily withdrawal limits were to remain unchanged at 60 euros per account daily.

Al Jazeera’s John Psaropoulos, reporting from Athens, said Greek banks were now operating “under siege”, with one major Athens bank only able to keep its ATMs open on Monday after two major companies deposited their payrolls in cash. “The banks are living day-to-day and hand-to-mouth,” Psaropoulos said.

The ECB has maintained its emergency liquidity lifeline for Greek banks, however it raised charges on collateral the banks require to present for funds, effectively devaluing the banks’ assets and making them less able to borrow against their collateral. “The situation is becoming financially worse, not just more politically difficult,” our correspondent said.