Kammenos says banks will stay open and urges calm after referendum call

By George Georgiopoulos & Karolina Tagaris

A senior Greek politician on Saturday issued an assurance that banks would remain open and asked people to remain calm, hours after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced a surprise referendum on bailout terms offered by foreign creditors.

Greek savers have pulled out billions of euros from lenders in recent days amid worries Athens could implement capital controls as it moves perilously close to a default that could result in its exit from the euro.

In the early hours of Saturday morning lines of people were seen forming to withdraw cash from automated teller machines in some parts of Athens.

By mid-morning, there were dozens queuing outside a branch of Piraeus Bank in central Athens, although that is not unusual as many Greeks who don't use cash cards come to banks on Saturdays. The bank was still closed nearly an hour after it was meant to open at 0730 GMT.

A senior executive at Piraeus said it intended to open the branch but was considering security issues because of the queues.

"Citizens should not be scared, there is no blackmail," Panos Kammenos, head of the government's junior coalition ally, told local television. "The banks won't shut, the ATMs will (have cash). All this is exaggeration," he said, echoing previous denials of plans to implement capital controls.

The plea came after Tsipras called a referendum on austerity demands from creditors, rejecting what he called an "ultimatum" and marking the latest twist in the five-month negotiations between Greece and its lenders.

Many banks in Greece are usually closed on Saturdays but some lenders keep open one or two branches for a few hours.

"The Bank of Greece is making a huge...