Galery

1

There has been a discussion in the Greek domain about whether it is moral to impose a tax on real estate and a "solidarity" tax, both of which have been imposed here, and whether the cuts of bank deposits is immoral. What is your opinion?

The security of deposits is a matter of morality as well as a matter of political prudence. It is a matter of morality, because when someone entrusts his/her money to you, he/she trusts you. The words we are using are not casual. They incorporate the word "faith." A prerequisite for this is confidence in the system. The relationship between the bank and the citizens is based on confidence. Therefore, the European Union legislation provides protection for deposits under 100,000 euro. It is politically unwise and immoral to violate this rule.

Deposits over 100,000 euro are not protected. In this case, the depositors assume the risk. We cannot talk about morality in this case. If I have deposits amounting to hundreds of thousands of euro and the bank goes bankrupt, I do not think the state is obliged to help me. However, the people with deposits over 100,000 euro, who will lose money from the cuts, could be compensated with bonds associated with the future natural gas production for example. I think there is no problem from a moral standpoint.

For me, the violation of the European Union law, which protects the deposits under 100,000 euro, is immoral."