bank holiday

Divisiveness is a toxic byproduct this week in now crisis-driven Greece, following the institution of capital controls, a week-long bank holiday and a hastily called referendum viewed by many — sans the leftist Greek government — as deciding the nation’s very presence in a united Europe.

Days after flatly rejecting reports of capital controls… Yanis Varoufakis on Tuesday said there was “no issue of a bail-in”, i.e. a “haircut” of deposits in Greek banks.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Tuesday repeated his call for a “no” vote in Sunday’s hastily called referendum over creditors’ proposals, as he again took to the airwaves for a third time since shocking European partners with the snap plebiscite.

Bulgaria is watching the crisis in neighboring Greece "through wary eyes," Brussels-based EUObserver writes.

It reports about the government's position after Athens announced a bank holiday this week, which reads that the Greek banks' branches are established under Bulgarian law and no money can be transferred from them out of the country without a permission from the central bank.

Whispers of a new … bailout agreement emerged late Tuesday after an earlier Eurogroup teleconference, with deliberations set to continue on Wednesday, a more-or-less positive sign amid an avalanche of bleak developments this week — surprise referendum, acrimonious exchanges between Athens and creditors, a week-long bank holiday and capital controls.

The prospect of the Greek government canceling a hastily called referendum on creditors’ proposals has reportedly caused a firestorm of debate within the ruling SYRIZA party, and more importantly, within the Cabinet itself.

Greek-owned banks in the Balkans region were open on Monday, paying out cash and issuing loans -- in contrast to Greece, where a bank holiday and capital controls went into force, Reuters reported.

Bulgarian nationals visiting neighbouring Greece this week will have to carry enough cash to pay for goods and services after Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced a bank holiday and the introduction of capital controls, the Foreign Ministry in Sofia said on Monday.

The Greek government on Sunday announced a bank holiday until …July 7 as a necessary measure to combat the possibility of a bank run — one of the “results” of a surprise late-night announcement of a referendum by the Greek premier. What does this mean for travelers?

The decision by Athens to shut down banks in the country this week has no legal force outside Greece and cannot be applied to Bulgaria, the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) has said.