Greek central bank

By John O'Donnell and Paul Carrel

The European Central Bank faces resistance from Germany to allowing any extra emergency lending for Greek banks, people familiar with the matter said, increasing pressure on Athens to sign up to an extended aid-for-reform program.

The European Central Bank is unlikely to pull the plug on emergency funding for Greek banks this week despite a standoff between Athens and its international lenders, a person familiar with the situation said.

LONDON ? Greek banks are losing around 2 billion euros of deposits a week, a pace of outflows which, if maintained, will see them run out of collateral for new loans in 14 weeks, according to JP Morgan.

By Renee Maltezou & John O'Donnell

The European Central Bank raised pressure on Greece on Thursday to extend a bailout deal with its international creditors as new leftist prime minister Alexis Tsipras told EU leaders austerity is killing his economy and they must find an alternative.

LISBON - Emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) is only for short-term needs and it is essential that it is a "bridge to somewhere," European Central Bank policymaker Peter Praet said, adding to uncertainty over whether Greece will be able to use ELA.

In his speech on Sunday, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said that Greece had a "moral obligation" to claim reparations from Germany for the damages wrought by the Nazis during Worle War Two. He said that this was "a moral obligation to our people, to history, to all European people who fought and spilled their blood against Nazism."

Greek central bank governor Yannis Stournaras said on Thursday that Greek banks were solid and under control, a day after the European Central Bank denied them use of Greek bonds as collateral for loans.

"Deposits and liquidity are absolutely safe," Stournaras, who is also a member of the European Central Bank's Governing Council, told reporters.

The head of Germany's powerful Bundesbank warned Greece against using emergency funding to prop up its banks long-term and said countries must bear the impact of their decisions, further isolating Athens after it all but ditched a reform-for-aid deal.

By John O'Donnell & Jan Strupczewski

The European Central Bank abruptly canceled its acceptance of Greek bonds in return for funding on Wednesday, shifting the burden onto Athens' central bank to finance its lenders and isolating Greece unless it strikes a new reform deal.

A defiant Greece said Feb. 5 it would not be ?blackmailed? by its European Union partners but that it did want to find a joint solution to its debt and austerity crisis.