Greeks have been waking up to a very uncertain future after the government missed a midnight deadline to repay an IMF loan of 1.6 billion euros.
The bailout expired after eurozone ministers refused to extend it, meaning the country can no longer access billions of euros in funds.
Amid a tight financial squeeze, 1,000 banks are re-opening on Wednesday as planned but only for pensioners who don’t have cards for cash machines.
Queues formed early among those looking to withdraw a maximum of 120 euros a week. For everyone else, banks remain closed till Monday.
The missed deadline to repay 1.6 billion euros to the International Monetary Fund means Greece is now officially in arrears – the first time an IMF loan has not been repaid since Zimbabwe in 1981.
The IMF said in a statement on Greece that there would be no more funds until arrears were cleared, and a request by Greece to extend the deadline would be considered “in due course”.
The Eurogroup is meeting on Wednesday morni
