European Central Bank head Mario Draghi said Thursday that emergency support to Greek banks will be increased — a first step toward helping the country’s banks reopen.
The Greek banks have been closed since June 29, more than two weeks ago, since the ECB’s governing council halted the credit flow due to concerns the banks would go broke and not pay the money back.
In a news conference following the ECB’s regular policy meeting, Draghi said the ECB agreed on Thursday to increase that credit amount by 900 million euros over one week.
The decision came after the Greek parliament approved a bill of budget savings and economic reforms that the eurozone countries said was required to start talks on a new bailout program worth about 85 billion euros ($86 billion) over three years.
It was unclear when the Greek banks might reopen or when the country might be able to lift or ease limits on cash withdrawals and money transfers. ATM withdrawals have been limited to 60 euros per person per day. Normal commerce is impossible as suppliers demand businesses pay cash they don’t have.