Greek bank-deposit outflows said to grow as snap elections near

Athens

GREEK bank-deposit withdrawals accelerated this month after Prime Minister Antonis Samaras opened the way for snap national elections that risk severing the lifeline that has kept the country in the euro area.

Net outflows in December totalled about three billion euros (S$4.81 billion), according to four bankers who asked not to be named because the data are preliminary. Deposits in November fell by 222 million euros from the previous month to 164.3 billion euros, the Bank of Greece said on Tuesday in Athens.