Laxer capital controls have been announced by Greece’s finance ministry, as the latest projections – by official lips – have GDP* in the recession- and election-plagued country for 2015 shrinking between 1.5 to 2.0 percent.
“Highlights” include the “privilege” Greek bank account holders of transferring up to 500 euros per month overseas, or more if health reasons are presented. More liberal ways of opening new bank accounts and prematurely opening term-accounts are also foreseen, although it remains to be seen just how many new accounts will be opened in the country, now entering its unprecedented seventh year of recession.
In all, 14 changes were announced to the current regime of capital controls, which was imposed by the first SYRIZA government of 2015 in the wake of a decision to hold a …referendum and the immediate fear of bank run at the time, end of June 2015.
The greater portion of the “liberalization” deals with overseas transactions.