This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
Greek Municipal Union Refuses To Hand Over "Confiscated" Cash To Central Bank
A week ago the world and Greece alike were stunned to learn that the financial situation in Athens is so atrocious, the government, through an emergency decree, was forced to not only "borrow" funds from pensioners, but would also confiscate any available cash held by municipal entities such as mayor's offices, the national opera, the art gallery and even hospitals and kindergartens, in order to make its upcoming payments to the Troika, as well as to help with rolling over debt maturities, of which as a reminder there are many.
The government had hoped this act of desperation would raise up to €2.5 billion in funding, carrying Greece though the end of May, however according to initial media reports the practical limits of this action would lead to at most €500-600 million in new funds raised, not nearly enough to cover the €1 billion in Greek payments due to the IMF in May alone.
Earlier today, while the European markets were caught in the latest myopic buying frenzy resulting from the hope that an imminent termination of Yanis Varoufakis may mean a Greek debt deal is imminent, the Central Union of Municipalities and Communities of Greece ("KEDE") held a meeting in which it said that while it "declares it support for the national negotiating effort", it would not transfer any funds to the Bank of Greece.
As Bloomberg confirms, the union said "they won’t transfer cash reserves to Bank of Greece until PM’s promises to them are passed into law, according to statement today on Athens-based body’s website. Govt must also make clear how the Bank of Greece will manage these funds."
On its website, the Union added that it would consider whether it would change its position on Thursday, May 7, one day ahead of a €1.4 billion T-Bill maturity, and five days ahead of a €760 million payment to the IMF.
Not unexpectedly, the municipalities are less than excited by the prospect of handing over their rainy day slush fund just so the IMF can pay its muppet regime in Ukraine for a few more months. As a result, they have objected to the government's emergency decree, and have come up with conditions of their own before they hand over the funds (if ever):
the exclusion of compensatory fees from the current law, the exclusion of the municipalities budgets have financial commitments, the assumption by the State's liability to cover legal issues for payment of clauses or Municipalities responsibilities and Mayors, to clarify the mechanism by which it will be managing our money through the Bank of Greece once submitted, to ensure immediate cash management from commercial banks.
Kathimerini has more:
An attempt by Education Minister Aristides Baltas (photo) to convince rectors to transfer their reserves to a Bank of Greece account and help the central government pay its dues was met with resistance as the rectors insisted on a meeting with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to discuss the demand in detail.
The decree, issued last week, obliges all state organizations ranging from local authorities to universities to transfer their cash reserves to the government, noting that the money will earn a generous interest rate and can be returned to the organizations if necessary.
Baltas sought to win over the rectors during an emergency meeting on Monday by promising that funding set aside for research would be exempted from the transfer. But the academics appeared unmoved, insisting on an audience with the premier.
Meanwhile, the country’s secondary school teachers’ union (OLME) lashed out against the government’s attempt to take the reserves of municipalities and regional authorities. It accused the government of “grabbing money” and “instead of providing relief for the the working classes, it uses it to satisfy the needs of creditors.”
* * *
The country’s mayors have been divided over whether to follow suit. Following a long meeting on Monday, Greek mayors agreed not to transfer any cash reserves to the Bank of Greece until certain exemptions that they said Tsipras’s has agreed to have been voted through Parliament.
Long story short, what was originally supposed to be an emergency rainy day fund collection of €2.5 billion will be €0.0 billion instead, at least for the next 10 days, and probably beyond.
Which, in a world where Greece's obligations to the Troika can not be simply met with a Yanis Varoufakis resignation, means that the latest bout of Greek risk asset optimism will be very short-lived.
Which brings us to the flowchart of the day: what UBS dubs the "likely consequences of non-payment by the Greek government." It is relevant, because unless Varoufakis can come up with another plan to "confiscate" a few billion from some Greek entity, it is precisely what next steps fore Greece are.
- 25956 reads
- Printer-friendly version
- Send to friend
- advertisements -





"Go-Go-Gadget" Check Kiting!
WTF , why delay what we all know is coming. look at that calendar , there is no way, to pay all this!!!!
Just default and exit BITCHEZ
Some Greek official was saying just today that Greece would pay all its debts. Not sure if he meant, they would keep servicing the debts or pay off the debt. Total goof ball statement. It wasn't V.
This has been going on forever.
Part of me wishes the Greeks would just default and get it over with, the other part of me wants to stack for another year or two.
#torn
Total societal collapse is only fun in the beginning.
I've chosen to live in a country that has experienced 3 societal collapses in the last 100 years, and each time came back stronger than before.
The US I am afraid will look like Baltimore/St. Louis.
Three? I can guess at the first two, but what's the third?
BTW- I have a creepy feeling Greece is going to somehow, some way, get their next bail-out payment. As soon as I heard Varofulsdkfjsfjksdjsjsdj was going to be "removed" I thought "here we go again". You think I'm reading that right?
Even without Varoufakis-facts will not go away!
wow: http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2015/04/greece-dumps-finance-minist...
here it is posted:
Greece has announced a reshuffling of its bailout-negotiating team, reining in Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, after three months of talks with creditors failed to unlock aid and a meeting with his euro-area counterparts ended with finance ministers throughout the eurozone heaping abuse on Varoufakis .
The coordination of the day-to-day efforts to strike a deal with creditors was handed to Deputy Foreign Minister Euclid Tsakalotos, a Greek government official said in an e-mail to reporters..
Varoufakis will continue to supervise political negotiations with euro-area member states and the International Monetary Fund.
“This move squares the circle, because it doesn’t look like [Greek Prime Minister Alexis] Tsipras is surrendering by firing Varoufakis, but it to some extent has the same result,” said Michael Michaelides, a strategist at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc in London, reports Bloomberg.
Varoufakis is no true friend of free markets, but the banksters will not put up with even a tiny bit of insolence from a servant.
No doubt a call was made to Tsipras to ditch Varoufakis.
-RW
Syriza is making jokes and try to provoke Europe. The know the horror Brussel bureaucrats (and banks) have from a forced Grexit. The show will continue.
iRefuse
Rumor has it that Greece and Gazpromia are due to sign the Turkstream contract this week.
I'd save it for 9th of May to make the middle finger to Brussels more metaphorical.
"As soon as I heard Varofulsdkfjsfjksdjsjsdj was going to be "removed" I thought "here we go again". You think I'm reading that right?"
I think you are reading that right.
this Greek comedy/tragedy has more episodes and staying power than days of our lives, give it a few more years and we might see some real developments... maybe...
I'm gonna go back to watching paint dry
What are we taking here? Mantarys? Tolos? Bhorash? You'll haver to be more specific.
they could "borrow" the livers of a few thousand pensioners?
why we dont read anything like this in europe?
keep the sheep calm?
bäh.
When fraud is the status quo, possession is 100% of the law.
And when the Rule of Law prevails, possession is 90% of the Law.
Hedge, plan and act accordingly.
yes, possession seems to always be a good thing.
D-E-F-A-U-L-T, you stoopid shits!
Then D-I-V-O-R-C-E before the ECB Mark666 woodchipper finishes you off...
C U S T O D Y
German Leopard 2 main battle tank. Impressive machine with a smooth ride, accurate ordinance with optional heated leather seats and Wi-Fi...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkCzu9KKV2E
With real Corinthian leather, or Naugahide? How many baby Naugas dies for that Naugahide anyway?
They all use fake wood and fake leather anyway -- even in fancy German cars.
The Russian 90MS is impressive. Half the cost, faster, longer travel range, longer kill range, and pretty cool defense tech. They can build 2x as many for the same price. Their next gen tank is supposed to have all the tech you see in land, air, and naval systems.
Germany can never match the Russians for production. The Americans better hope no battles are ever fought off road (too heavy).
Coming to a CHASE bank near you!
Athens, soon to be the Mogadishu of the Mediterranean....
This is the endgame.
The looters fight each other!
NEIN
Plan B!
That which cannot continue will not continue.
You know only a sane person would think that... and yet all the evidence to date has been to the contrary.
under the table it's 10x times worse...
I'm afraid I owe Varoufakis an apology... I always expected him to be the guy to sell the Greeks out considering his Bio and all.
Time for Tsipras to send in the former legendary GS banker known as the Kalamari Kid...
Varoufakis has been telling it like it is right from the get-go. His mistake was believing that true will towards forging a better common future for all existed in Europe's current power bases. Exposing bankers & politicians' goals was necessary but ultimately he lost to media's character assassination campaign (his personal gaffes provided some ammunition too).
It takes serious media manipulation to get laughed out of the room when you have theory, recent past practical evidence and almost the entirety of your field's academia largely agreeing with you. Zerohedge community fell prey to the character assassination campaign at the very least.
you nailed it buddy
+100
Debt explosion, economy implosion, public revolution.
Cue up riot dog in three.....two....one....
Riot dog passed. Riot dog was awesome.
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/oct/09/greece-riot-dog-loukanik...
http://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2010/may/06/greece-protest
New Riot dog.
Genetically modified. This one's just a pup...
http://www.sanderskennels.com/wp-content/gallery/celebrity-gallery/fredo...
If the Greeks want to fuck the debt dealer right back they will bond default with the unions playing public whipping boy for Syriza triggering a CDS event and in turn start the derivatives tsunami throughout the whole banking system. People will be pining for the good old days of 2008 and 9/11 once that ride leaves the gate. EU is going to have no choice but to kick Greece out of the Euro or acquiesce to their demands (which ain't happening since power never willingly gives up control once it is entrenched) to keep that from happening.
This fiasco is a true reflection of how these Elites FUCK EVERYTHING UP and then cynically gather together for a group hug, all smiles.
KILL
Stupid ass lefties Syriza. Robbing from their own to pay their shysters in Brussels. I hope they are overthrown in a coup. It would serve them right to come in as saviors and go out with their dicks in their mouths Mussolini style for their grand betrayal of Greek people.
Just because you don't wear a tie it doesn't make you any different from the rrest of the sell outs.
How much of the public coin are they going to send to the Troika BEFORE they default. So predictable
Let's see what Golden Dawn does. More of the same I'm sure.
If they continue this path, the Syriza guys get publicly executed and hung. Maybe sent to exile in Turkish part of Cyprus.
No doubt in my mind. It's human nature and "evolution" or "progression" has got nothing to do with it.
The circus is so much more entertaining when the performers eat each other.
As Bloomberg confirms, the union said "they won’t transfer cash reserves to Bank of Greece until PM’s promises to them are passed into law, according to statement today on Athens-based body’s website. Govt must also make clear how the Bank of Greece will manage these funds."
A BIG FUCKING HAHAHAHAHA
The union must be full of total dumbshits to even believe the current government would keep any agreement.
It puts them on record and gives the greek people a clear target at that point. Remember they believe in democracy, mobs are hard to control if they have a rational and clearly defined reason to be riled up. This gives them exactly that.
They had a reason to be riled up when the newly elected government folded like a cheap lawn chair in a high wind.
They didn't steal their individual money, big difference between this and that. People tend to stop paying lip service once it becomes real. That is the line for the unions and in turn it's workers.
In a democracy unions can't sell out their voters without the voters turning on the unions, they have no buffer to blame someone else. The only option is to dig in and refuse unless they get a legal agreement in writing from the government or force the government to take it by force. If the union leaders sell out their members they are going to be the first ones lynched by the mob.
"They didn't steal their individual money".
They weren't in office long enough, they are now.
"IMF can pay its muppet regime in Ukraine for a few more months"
So much of ZH objectivity.
People in Ukraine had open, legit and democratic president & parliament elections - recognsided by whole world including their enemy putin regime.
They did, in fact they did twice. Once before the coup, and once after.
pods
this puppet show is not an elections. USA recognised Islamic state, but it's not a state...
jez, just shut up
Did they now?
it's state or terrorist organisation - it can't be both. You can't bomb country.
Do you have any logic?
They can call themselves anything they like. Lots of countries get bombed. There is a difference between a de facto and a de jure regime, as well. Their structural efforts and control of a wide swath of territory certainly makes them a de facto government in my eyes-- an evil one doomed to fall but a government nonetheless.
You probably feel the same way about Ukraine. But in terms of international recognition, even if not yours personally, Ukraine is headed by a de jure government.
im talking not about government, im talking about regognising anything.
You can't bomb country or you are war criminal.
Iraq can bomb terrorist,but usa still can't do it in Iraq.
de facto usa is nazi-corporate gang, de jure it's federation.
de facto ukraine is nazi-puppets of usa, de jure it's a country.
We are talking about de jure.
You need to have some basis to make assumptions
My assumption is that countries bomb other countries all the time-- and the practice is spreading rapidly. Won't be long until it is a universal phenomenon.
Good luck to you and your family.
tough crowd today kid...
Communist Party was banned. Fuck your bullshit on "open, legit and democratic elections."
Go peddle that trash on the Presstitute sites like Guardian or Bezos Post
Ay gamisou haha
Burn the banks with the bankers in it...
"and we have a winner...."
bits and bytes dont burn...
No, but unexpected magnetic fields and power surges can do really interesting things to the machines they reside in...
I may be on the union's side in the one instance, but am not having a lot of sympathy for municipal unions of any ilk all of which exist and fund themselves through extortion and/or theft. This is like having a criminal piss and moan that someone might rip him off.
Where's the money Lebowskipoulos?
OK - they pass legislation today to okay transferring the unions funds and then tomorrow, the legislature rescinds the law. No biggie. Govt 1 Union 0
"Govt must also make clear how the Bank of Greece will manage these funds."
"Manage" that's some funny shit right there! I can tell you how they'll manage it!
Fucking Morons! Defalt you dumb asses!
"Defalt you dumb asses!"
PRICELESS!!!!
They wlll manage it like they are "managing" their gold holdings
Opa!
You know, I think it's pretty funny to listen to governments object to having THEIR bank accounts seized.
I can hear them now:
"Hey, we're the seizers, not the seizees. What the fuck do you think you're doing?"
Fuck 'em. Kidnap their kids, cut their fucking heads off and display them on youtube. I"m not joking. Drastic? They'll leave you and YOUR FAMILY with ZERO.
The issue is not whether you are joking but whether you are an agent of a police state trolling for self-identifying candidates to a conspiracy rap or just deranged.
No other explanation seems reasonable. If you truly believe in torture and murder of innocents, you are a lunatic and actually worse than the people you complain about, who only wish to impoverish their marks.
If you are an allegedly rational actor who goes onto public forums and attempts to incite total strangers into acts of murder and insurrection, well... you aren't actually rational at all. Or else your rational motive is other than what you proclaim it to be.
If you are making these wild statements in order to brand ZH as a site for terrorists and revolutionaries, I can see how this would enable you to deny every member of ZH the right to purchase a firearm due to the statement about "membership in an organization that advocates for the violent overthrow of the United States" contained in the application.
For the record, I an not in favor of the violent overthrow of the government. I am not of the opinion that anyone here is in favor of such a thing--other than maybe you. And I suggest for the benefit of the owners and members of ZH, as well as your own personal welfare, that you withdraw or apologize for this unwise manifesto
Good call.
Until everyone understands that the only way to end this nightmare is peacably by shining a bright light on corrupt powers that be we are fucked. (see: Julian Assange / Edward Snowden)
Violence by disgruntled mob is a very dangerous thing and will surely be met by extreme police state violence with very nasty high tech lethal tools. I do not wish to see violent anarchy and mob rule. After the fall of the royals during the French revolution there was a 25 year period of violence known as "the reign of terror". I expect most revolutionaries at some time later wished for a return to the corrupt yet mostly peaceful "let them eat cake' times until the rise of Emporer Napoleon.
The architecture of most western democratic institutions and governmenst are fine... we jut have to make them live up to their ideals by expelling the sociopaths and bloodsuckers...
Seek professional help now. We are a diverse group of truthseeking tinfoilers and malcontents over here... not crazies! (well mostly)
Two wrongs don't make a right now
Killing the first born sons of the wicked with impunity is only an option for the Almighty.
Everyone else has to consider the possibility that the response to any serious, popular attempt at violent revolution against the banksters (as opposed to a bankster-funded Maidan) will be strategic bombing into submission of any nation whose people are daft enough to try it, just possibly atomic.
Feeling lucky, pal?
If you must take a potshot at your local bankster satraps, good luck to you. Just don't expect it to do any good.
They'd rather eat their own children than give back loot
auto repos are a real bitch in texas
Fuck the EU.
So much for Syriza, just another bunch of commie sell outs to the commie EU. The Greek people should have voted for Golden Dawn!
One day we might find out they did.
Greece will pay wages and pensions on May 1st, they will go off the headlines for a few days and then on 9th... kaboooom
i wrote before, that they could sell the livers, but actually its not really a joke. taking the pensions away and money for hospitals etc is allready killing people. how far can they go? there is a lot more delayed killing actions they can perform, once youre there, breaking the ice bit by bit... i just cant belive it, how far they go.
And yet, we ve seen this all in 3.world countries. but i cant see any gandhis, just really angry and desperate young people. this wont end happy.
Ha! Around the world, people are having a hard time understanding - let alone supporting - the Central Planners' plan to help the global economy by stealing everyone's money and giving it to the bankers.
There is only one known mayor who actually gives a shit about his city in Greece. Boutaris of Thessaloniki. He tranferred the money. He didn't like the way the government did it, he doesn't even like the government, but it is in case for a national emergency.
The union of mayors? Fucking den of vipers. That money is their slush fund for payouts and building their new villas. But they sell it to their constituency that they guard the public purse. They respect it.
Now Syriza will capitulate. The majority want euro. The majority fear Grexit. Europe uses this against them. Greeks fucked themselves again.