Most Popular
1. It’s a New Macro, the Gold Market Knows It, But Dead Men Walking Do Not (yet)- Gary_Tanashian
2.Stock Market Presidential Election Cycle Seasonal Trend Analysis - Nadeem_Walayat
3. Bitcoin S&P Pattern - Nadeem_Walayat
4.Nvidia Blow Off Top - Flying High like the Phoenix too Close to the Sun - Nadeem_Walayat
4.U.S. financial market’s “Weimar phase” impact to your fiat and digital assets - Raymond_Matison
5. How to Profit from the Global Warming ClImate Change Mega Death Trend - Part1 - Nadeem_Walayat
7.Bitcoin Gravy Train Trend Forecast 2024 - - Nadeem_Walayat
8.The Bond Trade and Interest Rates - Nadeem_Walayat
9.It’s Easy to Scream Stocks Bubble! - Stephen_McBride
10.Fed’s Next Intertest Rate Move might not align with popular consensus - Richard_Mills
Last 7 days
Trump Stocks and Crypto Mania 2025 Incoming as Bitcoin Breaks Above $100k - 8th Dec 24
Gold Price Multiple Confirmations - Are You Ready? - 8th Dec 24
Gold Price Monster Upleg Lives - 8th Dec 24
Stock & Crypto Markets Going into December 2024 - 2nd Dec 24
US Presidential Election Year Stock Market Seasonal Trend - 29th Nov 24
Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past - 29th Nov 24
Gold After Trump Wins - 29th Nov 24
The AI Stocks, Housing, Inflation and Bitcoin Crypto Mega-trends - 27th Nov 24
Gold Price Ahead of the Thanksgiving Weekend - 27th Nov 24
Bitcoin Gravy Train Trend Forecast to June 2025 - 24th Nov 24
Stocks, Bitcoin and Crypto Markets Breaking Bad on Donald Trump Pump - 21st Nov 24
Gold Price To Re-Test $2,700 - 21st Nov 24
Stock Market Sentiment Speaks: This Is My Strong Warning To You - 21st Nov 24
Financial Crisis 2025 - This is Going to Shock People! - 21st Nov 24
Dubai Deluge - AI Tech Stocks Earnings Correction Opportunities - 18th Nov 24
Why President Trump Has NO Real Power - Deep State Military Industrial Complex - 8th Nov 24
Social Grant Increases and Serge Belamant Amid South Africa's New Political Landscape - 8th Nov 24
Is Forex Worth It? - 8th Nov 24
Nvidia Numero Uno in Count Down to President Donald Pump Election Victory - 5th Nov 24
Trump or Harris - Who Wins US Presidential Election 2024 Forecast Prediction - 5th Nov 24
Stock Market Brief in Count Down to US Election Result 2024 - 3rd Nov 24
Gold Stocks’ Winter Rally 2024 - 3rd Nov 24
Why Countdown to U.S. Recession is Underway - 3rd Nov 24
Stock Market Trend Forecast to Jan 2025 - 2nd Nov 24
President Donald PUMP Forecast to Win US Presidential Election 2024 - 1st Nov 24

Market Oracle FREE Newsletter

How to Protect your Wealth by Investing in AI Tech Stocks

Why Are "Bank Holidays" Always Announced on Sunday?

Personal_Finance / Credit Crisis 2015 Aug 27, 2015 - 12:14 PM GMT

By: MoneyMetals

Personal_Finance

David Smith writes: On Sunday, June 29, the Associated Press ran the following headline: "Greek Banks will not open Monday."

After a lengthy cabinet session, it was decided that Greek banks would remain closed for 6 working days, along with restrictions on cash withdrawals. In addition, financial sector officials confirmed the Athens Stock Exchange would not open the following week.


ATM withdrawals were capped at 60 euros ($66) per day. Web bill-paying banking was allowed, but moving money out of the country was prohibited. A side notice reported that Greeks could not remove cash from safety deposit boxes.

A Goldseek.com column at the time commented presciently that "the convenience of ease of access to a local safe deposit box can be offset by the fact that governments and banks can lay claim to their contents at the stroke of a pen. It would be unwise to view Greece as an exceptional case."

Greeks who paid attention were aware months beforehand that a "bank holiday" could be in the cards. But for most people (ourselves included?), there is an inertia in the human condition. It tends to express itself as "deer in the headlights," a feeling of being overwhelmed, or just plain denial.

According to the Financial Times, "Greek deposits are guaranteed up to €100,000, in line with EU banking directives..." But with few deposits over €100,000 left in the banks after six months of capital flight, an analyst quipped, “it makes sense for the banks to consider imposing a haircut on small depositors as part of a recapitalization... It could even be flagged as a one-off tax."

One bank spoke of withholding (stealing) at least 30% on deposits above 8,000 euros ($8,800). This is known as a bank “bail-in,” and it’s a scheme that our own FDIC now has at the ready to rob depositors if needed in the next crisis.

Think it can't happen here? Think again.

The Cyprus accountholder "haircut" two years ago paved the way for what's taking place now in Greece... and for what could take place HERE in the near future. Many observers regarded Cyprus as a "test case" to see how the public would react – a first attempt for such a procedure in a public setting.

Right into the weekend, politicians and bankers said everything was under control. However, bank employees and others “in the know” were getting their funds out. Then, on Sunday, the powers that be revealed their true intentions – closing for a "bank holiday" and taking "bail in" money from account holders whose balance exceeded a certain amount.

The stated rationale was that most of the money to keep the banks solvent was taken from illegally sourced Russian accounts.

But the recently revealed truth is that much of the penalty theft fell upon British, French, Germans, and Cypriots – many of whom had been building retirement accounts for decades.

Public shock about what happened in Cyprus blew over fairly quickly. Meanwhile, others – the U.S. (2010), Canada (2013), and the EU (2014) – either had already passed similar banking "bail-in" language or proceeded to add it soon thereafter.

Right now, YOUR bank almost certainly limits what you can withdraw per day. It establishes conditions wherein it can refuse to let you have your own money "without good reason." It even allows for a "bail in" in the event the bank could not otherwise remain solvent.

And banks are now starting to tell customers what they can and cannot keep in a safety deposit box.

Welcome, involuntary shareholders!

You have now become an involuntary "shareholder" in your bank – potentially obligated to help fund their mismanagement through crippling loss of your capital. That a European analyst would dare say in public that "it makes sense for the banks to consider imposing a haircut on small depositors as part of a recapitalization…" should be a shock to your financial core.

In 2013, one of Mexico's wealthiest industrialists, Hugo Salinas Price (born in Pennsylvania), wrote an open letter to the Greek government suggesting issuance of a one-tenth ounce silver unit. It would circulate alongside the country's primary currency – be it the euro or a re-issued fiat Drachma. The un-denominated silver coin, which he proposed naming the "Owl," would have a guaranteed never-to-be- reduced valuation, set daily by the central bank.

Several years ago, Price proposed that Mexico introduce a one-ounce silver coin, the "Libertad." As with the Owl, it would circulate as a parallel currency to the Peso, priced initially at about 15% over spot. Even though every Mexican state representative voted Si, the central bank refused to mint and issue it!

The best line ever from The Magnificent Seven...

Perhaps you've seen a 1960 western – now available in stunning Blu-ray format – titled The Magnificent Seven. Starring Yul Brunner, Eli Wallach, Charles Bronson, and Steve McQueen, it chronicles a group of hired gringo gunslingers employed in a Mexican village. They work for little pay in order to rid the town of a band of outlaws who periodically swoop down from the hills, robbing the unfortunates of most of their food and meager finances.

In an immortal line that so poignantly speaks to the coming events for many Americans, the bandit chief, Calvera (Wallach), responds to the Seven's leader, Chris (Yul Brunner) when he expresses concern about the peasants' plight:

"If God had not meant them to be shorn, he would not have made them sheep!"

This, folks, may be your fate, lest you take steps soon to acquire sound money in the form of precious metals. That portion of your wealth represents survival insurance – and yes, even potential profit.

Gold and silver are free of counterparty risk and provide protection from the ravages of incompetent, untrustworthy financial houses, cynical politicians, and government agencies at all levels. Like the bandit leader in the movie, all they want from you and yours is "Just a little bit more."

As the global and domestic situation continues to unravel, will you be an eagle – or a sheep?

David Smith

MoneyMetals.com

David Smith is Senior Analyst for TheMorganReport.com and is a regular contributor to MoneyMetals.com. For the last 15 years, he has investigated precious metals mines and exploration sites in Argentina, Chile, Mexico, China, Canada, and the U.S. and shared his findings and investment wisdom with readers, radio listeners, and audiences at North American investment conferences.

© 2015 David Smith - All Rights Reserved

Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.


© 2005-2022 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.


Post Comment

Only logged in users are allowed to post comments. Register/ Log in