Euro zone fears lead to massive Greek bank exodus

As fears of a Greek exit from the Euro zone grow, investors across the country withdrew hundreds of millions of Euros from Greek banks on Monday and Tuesday. As thousands of customers closed accounts, or transferred to euro-friendly banks in neighboring countries like Cyrus, analysts began to fear that a “bank run” was on the horizon. Bank runs take place when large groups of customers withdraw their holdings from banking institutions, fearing that the bank will soon be insolvent. As more people withdraw from the bank, the likelihood of insolvency increases, further increasing the number of customers who withdraw. Essentially, closure transforms from a possibility to self-fulfilling prophecy.

• €800 million pulled from Greek banks Monday — nearly $1 billion in U.S. dollars
• €72
  billion pulled from Greek banks since January 2010 alone source

» Attempting to calm “bank run” fears: President Karolos Papoulias announced the staggering total during a speech before heads of Greece’s Panhellenic Socialist party. Papoulias admitted that analysts estimated similarly high withdrawals on Tuesday, but assured party members that there was no need to fear a “bank run”. Analysts seem to agree for now, with Mediobanca analyst Alex Tsirigotis telling Reuters, “We have witnessed periods of tension before when the banks experienced large outflows. In my view, the majority of people with these concerns would have done so by now.” (Photo via dullhunk)

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