Greek savers still wary of Tsipras after 2015 financial tumult

Dangerous year: Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras at a media conference in Brussels. If the year that was turned out to be daunting, 2016 should really be the European Union’s year of living dangerously. – AP

ATHENS: As Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras braces for another round of tough negotiations with creditors, savers are still reluctant to bet their money that this year’s talks will be less perilous for their country’s place in the eurozone than 2015.

Data released from Greece’s central bank this week showed that deposit outflows continued in November for a second consecutive month, even as the nation’s lenders plugged their capital shortfalls, and strict capital controls put in place last summer capped withdrawals and money transfers abroad. Deposits held by households and businesses in Greek banks fell close to a 12-year-low of 120.9 billion euros (US$131.3bil) in November, bringing total losses to a record of more than 43 billion euros, or 26.4% of total savings, in the last 12 months.