After the breakthrough agreement was eventually made between Athens and its foreign lenders, the European Central Bank is ready to decide on whether to continue providing emergency liquidity to Greek banks which heavily depend on ECB support to survive. The European regulator has to allocate €25 billion to Athens for the finance system recapitalization.
The video conference of ECB Governing Council members is scheduled for next Monday. Top officials are meeting to discuss the Emergency Liquidity Assistance program (ELA) to keep crisis-stricken Greek banks afloat.
The ECB is likely to keep the emergency facility for Greek banks intact until the plan of reforms is approved by Greece’s parliament. Experts have termed the package of austerity measures “the most intrusive economic supervision program ever mounted in the EU.”
The ECB is holding a two-day meeting soon. Its agenda is devoted to the monetary policy in the euro bloc.
Importantly, Greece’s government announced a bank holiday on June 28 and banks have been shut ever since. Moreover, Athens imposed a limit on cash withdrawal and transfer. When Greek banks will be able to open again will depend on when a deal struck between the debt-choked country and its lenders is ratified by all.