Greece’s creditors have approved a series of initiatives devised by the Bank of Greece aimed at relaxing the capital controls which are currently in place.
The Governor of the Bank of Greece Yannis Stournaras formally sent the request to the European Central Bank on Monday. The plan, which involves lifting all restrictions on withdrawals from any cash deposits, aims to bring back the 15 billion euros that are believed to have been taken out of banks and store ‘under the mattress’.
According to the Governor’s request, bank account holders will be able to withdraw up to 840 euros in cash every two weeks. The cash withdrawal limit on available funds from abroad will increase from 10% to 30%, while all restrictions on the repayment of loans will also be lifted.
Additionally the plan involves increasing the limits of cards when used abroad, while facilitations will be made for online shopping.
