World stock markets slump out of the gate as high stakes negotiations between Greece and its many creditors entered their 11th hour with no deal in sight.
Anxious Greek pensioners swarmed closed bank branches Monday in the hope of getting their pensions, while queues formed at ATMs as they gradually began dispensing cash again following the imposition of strict controls on capital.
Greece woke up Monday to a changed financial landscape that many in the markets fear could be a prelude to a messy debt default and a damaging Greek exit from the euro.
The banks and the country's stock market have been closed for the week after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' surprise call for a referendum next Sunday on budget and reform proposals creditors are demanding Greece should take to gain access to blocked bailout funds. Tsipras is advocating Greeks reject the proposals in the popular vote, which increasingly has the look of a vote on euro membership itself.
The sense of unease was evident in the number of pensioners lining up at bank branches hoping they might open. Many elderly Greeks don't have bank cards and make withdrawals in person at the till, and so find themselves completely cut off from their money. One of the most onerous controls is a daily limit of 60 euros ($82.72) on cash withdrawals from ATMs.
The Finance Ministry said the manner in which pensions would be paid would be announced later Monday afternoon.
Without a deal to extend the bailout program, Greece will lose access to the remaining 7.2 billion euros ($9.93 billion) of rescue loans, and is unlikely to be able to meet a 1.6-billion-euro ($2.21-billion) debt repayment to the International Monetary Fund due the same day.
