EBA chief dismisses rumors over haircuts to Greek deposits
LONDON (Reuters) - The chairman of the European Banking Authority (EBA) Andrea Enria said on Saturday he was unaware of any planned haircuts to deposits held in Greek banks due to the country's debt crisis.
"I am not aware of any plans to introduce haircuts to retail depositors of Greek banks, as reported in the media this morning," Enria said in a statement.
Britain's Financial Times, citing bankers and people with knowledge of the measures, said on Saturday that Greek banks were preparing contingency plans for a possible "bail-in" of depositors amid fears Greece was heading for collapse.
The plans called for a haircut of 30 percent on deposits above 8,000 euros, the FT said.
"I highly doubt that any authority or public body at EU or Member State level could consider this option, as it would be against EU law and the EBA would immediately start breach of EU law proceedings," Enria added.
(Writing by David Evans; editing by Andrew Roche)
