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A Bloomberg analysis has estimated that the cash bled out of the Greek banking system in the aftermath of the elections amounts to €10 billion. ‘It seems, the Greeks have been stashing their cash under the mattresses,’ reads the headline of the publication in Bloomberg’s Greek electronic version. "It is not a secret that Greek banks have lost a substantial percentage of their deposits," argues Lorcan Roche Kelly in his article.

Where is the money?

The question is where all that cash is. "Have they shifted it to other banks or squeezed it under the mattress or the bathroom tiles?", the author asks. ''At first glance, data from the Bank of Greece suggests the first scenario as the banknotes-in-circulation index has not seen any sharp rise during the last few months'', Kelly argues. ''Still'', he adds, ''this does not tell us the whole truth''.

Where did the €10 billion come from?

The additional cash needs of the Greek economy are estimated under the category, net liabilities related to the allocation of euro banknotes within the Eurosystem. The extra cash was nought before the Greek crisis began in 2009. It went up to €22 billion in the months prior to the 2012 political crisis, and consistently declined thereafter. That was until December of last year when the Greek political crisis erupted again after the fall of the Samaras government.

Cash circulation

The diagram in the publication shows that the cash running through the Greek economy has swelled by €10 billion within the three months up to late February.

"Now we can clearly see there has been a €10 billion hike in Greece during the quarter up to the end of February 2015." Kelly maintains this is cash under the mattress. And these are a whole lot of mattresses.

Meanwhile, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung argues in a publication that ready cash in Greece will suffice until 8 April. "The Greek government has enough stock until 8 April, according to the estimates of the European Commission," says the newspaper quoting Commission sources.

The article also emphasises that the Tsipras government will have to get its act together ASAP on the list of reforms as there is only a fortnight left. "Only then the tranche of €7.2 billion will find its way into Greek coffers." The paper also quotes Friday’s agreement between Alexis Tsipras and the European partners on the provision of a complete list ‘in the coming days.’ The Commission expects that the technical teams dispatched to Greece will resume work in the ministries next week. This is what Jean Claude Juncker told Tsipras during their meeting at the summit last Friday. "Tsipras was not against it ...," says the publication.

"From 9 April, the Greek economic situation is going to get tough. The country will have to pay up €467 million to the IMF. Government bonds amounting to €2.4 billion need refunding by mid-April," concludes the article.