Wednesday 3 August 2011

silent bank run

Greece in panic as it faces change of Homeric proportions

Fear is driving a silent bank run in Greece – but some see the government's austerity plans as a chance to transform. Worried about whether the banks will stay in business, Greeks have been taking their life savings out of accounts and sticking them in metal slits in basement vaults.

The boxes are so popular that the bank has doubled the rent on them in the past year – and still every day between five and 10 customers request one. This bank ran out of spares months ago. The clerk leans over: "I've been working in a bank for 31 years, and I've never seen a panic like this."

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