The evolution of the limit on Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA), which is revised by the ECB every week, suggests the ELA funding available for Greek banks increased by 5.6 billion euros in April. This indirectly points to a similar amount of outflows for this month.
However, since the ELA cap is not fully used and details about the available ELA cash buffer have not been disclosed, at the moment we cannot have a clear picture, especially with regard to private sector deposits.
In addition, Greek banks have also recently experienced outflows from general government entities. They stood at 1.5 billion euros in March and may have accelerated in April. An important element of the withdrawals evident so far is related to the evolution of the currency in circulation, which is provided by the Bank of Greece (BoG) on a monthly basis.
The BoG data showed that the currency in circulation – equivalent to M0 – rose from a recent low of 30.1 billion euros at the end of November to 41 billion at the end of March. Banking sources say it rose even more during April. This movement over the 4-month period corresponds to an increase of 10.9 billion euros, or 40.6 percent of outflows. The bulk of this amount relates to cash Greeks have started keeping under mattresses, in bank vaults or safety boxes, amid increased fears about the implementation of capital controls or the collapse of talks between the government and lenders.
Where has the money withdrawn from Greek banks gone?
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