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Deposits worth up to 400 million euros have been transferred to Turkish banks as Greeks withdraw money from domestic banks, a media report says. Central banks check their ammunition before the crucial Greek vote
This file photo shows people walking past the headquarters of the National Bank of Greece in Athens. Greeks withdrew about 800 million euros out of the banking system between May 7 and 14, according to President Karolos Papoulias.
Greek depositors have moved some of the money they have withdrawn lately from Greek banks into Turkish banks, as market concerns deepen that the debt-ridden country, which faces general elections June 17, will eventually exit the euro area, according to Turkish media.
An estimated sum of between 300 and 400 million euros of deposits has been transferred to Turkish banks, according to a report by daily Star, citing unnamed officials.
The officials conducted research after Aleka Papariga, the leader of the Communist Party of Greece, claimed that Turkish banks were also exposed to risks stemming from the Spanish economic crisis, as the banks had 40 billion euros worth of Spanish bonds. According to the results of the research, the backdrop of this warning was concern over “whether the money withdrew in Greece fled to Turkey.” Among the first depositors to transfer their money to Turkey were people who had migrated to Greece and who had links in Turkey, Star said.
Greeks pulled about 800 million euros out of the banking system between May 7 and 14, President Karolos Papoulias said on May 16. There was an unidentified approximately $12.4 billion inflow to Turkish economy in 2011, which many analysts believed were from Syria and other Arab Spring countries. During the first four months of the year the figure amounted to $2.8 billion. Turkey’s total financial exposure to Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain is $760 million, as of the end of 2011, according to the Central Bank’s balance of payments data.
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