It appears that the Greek government lifting controls this summer on new money entering bank accounts has done very little to actually impact the growth of deposits in banks, the Bank of Greece (BoG) says.
According to the latest numbers, Greek bank deposits are at a historic low of only 102.2 billion euros, and sources have estimated that many Greeks have turned to hidden “mattress money” to pay their taxes in 2016.
The difference between the amount of money in the form of banknotes distributed throughout Greece by the European Central Bank (ECB) and the amount of money in circulation (i.e. not deposited in bank accounts) shows that there is an overwhelming amount of cash still being locked away in home safety deposit boxes and under mattresses.
In all, the amount of cash in circulation for October was 43.8 billion euros. That amount in relation to the 29.3 billion banknotes distributed by the ECB results in the staggering difference of an unaccounted 14.5 billion euros, which is believed to be stashed away in Greeks’ homes.
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