Deposits slump to a new 15-year low

Greek private sector bank deposits declined in January for the second month in a row, central bank data showed yesterday, as worries over the country’s drawnout bailout review led to withdrawals. Business and household deposits fell by 1.63 billion euros, or 1.34 percent monthon-month, to 119.75 billion euros, their lowest level since November 2001. They had decreased by 3.42 billion euros to 121.38 billion in December. Starting in December, the Bank of Greece stopped counting deposits of 4.2 billion euros held in the Loans & Consignment Fund and another 2.1 billion euros in the Deposit Guarantee Fund (TEKE) as private sector deposits. Its move followed a reclassification by the country’s statistics service ELSTAT, which groups the two institutions under the general government