Up to Euro 100.000

Greece to raise bank savings guarantee to 100,000 euros
08 October, 2008

Following an Economic and Financial Affairs council (ECOFIN) meeting in Luxembourg on October 7, where Economy and Finance Minister George Alogoskoufis held talks with his counterparts, the government has announced that it intends to raise the legal protection on savings deposit guarantees to €100,000 instead of a minimum level of 50,000 agreed by the European Union, in a move aimed at boosting confidence among depositors as the global credit crisis deepens.

Speaking to reporters after the conclusion of the ECOFIN meeting, Alogoskoufis said: :"We intend, very soon, to table an amendment to Parliament, raising the savings guarantee level from €20,000 currently to €100,000." He added that all member states would guarantee protection of citizen’s bank deposits of up to €50,000 for an initial period of a year. Greece is one of a number of EU states to go beyond the minimum deposit insurance. The minister also cited a political commitment by the government to do whatever necessary to ensure the savings by Greek citizens was valid. "It is a political commitment we expressively undertaken last week," he noted.