(Reuters) — Greek pensioners queued outside banks in Athens once again on Wednesday (July 8) to withdraw their pensions as fears grew that the country’s cash reserves would soon run dry.
The scenes have been repeated outside 1,000 bank branches across Greece since banks were closed and capital controls imposed on June 29.
Banks were only opened during the last week to pensioners who do not have credit or debit cards.
Other people stood in line at ATMs to withdraw their daily cash allowance.
“We have finally understood that either way, things will not be that different. Either they adopt these measures, or they don’t and we look at our currency. I don’t know which currency it will be,” said pensioners Manthos Brunias.
“The difference is small because in two or three years, the pension of 500 euros will fall to 200 euros. The salaries of 1,600 euros will fall to 200 euros. It’s a slow death. Nothing changes,” he said.
“We are still waiting, we are still waiting. There is nothing else to do. If they don’t like us, they can kick us out. The country is in big trouble. There is no money. What can we do?” Athens resident Dimitris told Reuters.
On Wednesday, two sources familiar with the country’s financial system said that Greek banks could start to run out of cash over the next two days if creditors do not agree to a new aid deal.
One source familiar with the country’s banking system said he expected some ATM machines to start running out of money by Wednesday, while the other source, a banker in Greece, said there could be just two-days’ worth of money left in the system.
The second source, a senior banker in a Greek bank, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the country’s cash system would grind to a halt if the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras could not seal a bailout deal in the coming days.
With withdrawals from cash machines rationed to a maximum of 60 euros a day, and the banks shut for more than a week, supplies of banknotes have been dwindling fast.
“I’m afraid that the Greeks may starve and that will be the end of us. And the history books of the future are going to read that once upon a time, this country was inhabited by Greeks,” said another resident, Lefteris.
But Athens resident Costas said the actual problem was trust in the banks.
“Look, for me 60 euros a day is a big sum of money. I wish I had 60 euros per day. Most Greeks are in the same position,” he said. “It’s a false problem.”
Tsipras was on Wednesday addressing the European parliament in Strasbourg where he was launching a fresh bid to win new funds from creditors, after an emergency summit of the euro group on Tuesday (July 7).
