Greeks line up at ATMs as Tsipras calls vote

By Christos Ziotis, Jenny Paris & Theophilos Argitis

Some Greek banks were beginning to limit cash transactions as hundreds of people lined up outside branches and drained cash machines after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called a referendum that could decide his country?s fate in the euro.

Two senior Greek retail bank executives said as many as 500 of the country?s more than 7,000 ATMs had run out of cash as of Saturday morning, and that some lenders may not be able to open on Monday unless there was an emergency liquidity injection from the Bank of Greece. A central bank spokesman said it was making efforts to supply money to the system.

Some banks were placing limits in daily bank note and ATM transactions. Yiota Kardogianni, a manager at a branch of Piraeus Bank SA, said cash withdrawals were limited at 3,000 euros ($3,350) daily and ATM withdrawals at 600 euros. Alpha Bank AE had set a daily limit of 5,000 euros for most of its branches since last week.

?I?m here to take my mother?s pension out before the machine runs out of cash,? said Erato Spyropoulou, who was standing in a line of about eight people at one of National Bank of Greece SA?s ATMs. ?It?s very worrying what?s happening because people don?t know what they?re being asked to vote for. It?s the last nail in Greece?s coffin.?

Tsipras?s decision to hold a referendum asking people to rule on a proposal to unlock 15.5 billion euros in aid for Greece in return for sales-tax increases and pension reforms came hours before euro-area finance ministers were due to meet for the fifth time within 10 days to discuss the same question.

After withdrawing more than 30 billion euros as the anti- austerity Coalition of the Radical Left, or Syriza, took power,...