Late-2000s financial crisis

Friday’s crucial Eurogroup meeting is underway in Brussels to discuss the 3rd bailout program for Greece, after the Greek parliament passed the terms of the new memorandum of understanding (MoU) earlier Friday, which had been agreed between Greece and EU institutions on Tuesday.

Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos and Economy Minister George Stathakis are continuing their meetings with Greece’s quartet of creditors from the European Commission (EC), European Central Bank (ECB), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Stability Mechanism (ESM). The goal is to surpass obstacles by August 11 for a positive recommendation on a new multi-billion-euro loan for Greece.

Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos met with Bank of Greece (BoG) Governor Yannis Stournaras at the Finance Ministry Friday. The two men discussed the pressing issue of the timetable for the recapitalization of Greek banks, a matter which is at the heart of negotiations with the institutions currently in Athens.

The Athens Stock Exchange is due to open next week, said Capital Market Commission president Konstantinos Botopoulos in a television interview with the national broadcaster, ERT.

Discussions on a third bailout package have started in Athens between Greek authorities and representatives of Greece's international creditors, the European Commission announced on Monday.

A Greek government spokeswoman, however, said that high-level talks would not begin until later this week, according to the BBC.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble still thinks that a temporary exit of Greece from the eurozone would perhaps be a better option for the country.

Schaeuble said this in an interview for Deutschlandfunk radio on Thursday, daily Kathimerini informs.

The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) has reportedly sent Greece’s General Accounting Office a letter stating that it is within its rights to immediately demand repayment of the loans given to the country, as part of the second bailout package.

The decision was reportedly sent to the Greek side by EU Commissioner Pierre Moscovici.

Projections for a “haircut” of Greek bank accounts vary between 27 to 55 percent if the ECB requests a return of roughly 120 billion euros funneled to Greek systemic banks as liquidity.

Such a nightmare scenario could be one of the repercussions of a possible delay in any new bailout agreement, regardless of a “yes” or “no” vote in Sunday referendum.

 In wake of MPs approving plebiscite, gov't agrees to emergency measures after ECB decides not to lift limit on liquidity

European Central Bank policy setters are considering tightening Greek banks' use of an emergency funding lifeline but keeping the back-up facility open, people familiar with the matter said.

Such a move would curb those lenders' access to a multi-billion-euro central bank support that they use to pay out deposits, making it harder for them to meet such demands.