The Department for Work and Pensions has contacted 2,000 British citizens in Greece, advising them on how to switch payments to non-Greek bank accounts if they wish, as chancellor George Osborne warns the financial situation in Greece may deteriorate rapidly.
Last week the DWP said it will attempt to contact people that draw a British state or public sector pension from a Greek bank account.
Yesterday, Mr Osborne said the DWP has enabled people in Greece who receive a UK state pension to set up a UK bank account if they do not already have one.
He added international payments into Greece are still exempt from the restrictions that the Greek authorities have placed on the banking system so the UK government payments, including state pension and public service pension payments, will continue to be made in the usual way.”
Speaking yesterday (6 June) in Parliament, Mr Osborne said prime minister David Cameron had again chaired a meeting, attended by Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England; with Mr Osborne and others to review the UK’s response to the ongoing crisis.
In the last week the Greek government has failed to make the IMF payment that were due and the Greek people have rejected the creditors’ terms.
Mr Osborne said: “So far the financial market reaction has been relatively contained. Private sector exposures are far less than three years ago, and the eurozone authorities have said that they stand ready to do whatever is necessary to ensure the financial stability of the euro area.
“But the risks are growing, so it is right that we remain vigilant and monitor the situation carefully. I am in close contact with the governor.”
Greece is set to present new bailout proposals to the EU at a summit today (7 July), in the first signs of engagement since the ‘no’ referendum result over the weekend.
FTAdviser’s parent paper the Financial Times reported that a Greek government spokesman agreed in a phone call with German chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday that prime minister Alexis Tsipras would present the proposals at an EU summit in Brussels.
emma.hughes@ft.com
