Greek banks are being hit by a wave of redemptions as the country's most wealthy citizens and corporations look to move their money offshore or to international financial institutions perceived as safer homes for their assets, the U.K.'s Telegraph newspaper reported on its Web site Tuesday.
The report cited figures from the Bank of Greece that show more than 3 billion euros ($4 billion) worth of cash deposits held by Greek households and companies leaving the country in February and about 5 billion euros ($6.7 billion) leaving in January.
John Raymond, a bank analyst at CreditSights, was quoted as saying that capital flight was the No. 1 issue worrying most Greek bankers. "The banks themselves are concerned by it because they can't get funding elsewhere at the moment," he said.
