Greece to Fully Lift Capital Restrictions Starting September 1

(Bloomberg) -- Greece is lifting all remaining limits on the free movement of capital outside the country after four years of restrictions, signaling a further return to normality for the country’s economy.

Capital controls are “now a thing of the past,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told lawmakers in Athens on Monday, after announcing the move. The restrictions will officially be lifted on Sept. 1.

The controls were first imposed in June 2015 after former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras reached a standoff with creditors after announcing a referendum that sent depositors running to line up in front of ATMs.

The complete lifting of the restrictions is in full cooperation with the country’s central bank and the European authorities, Finance Minister Christos Staikouras said in a speech in parliament Monday. The move will help the country’s sovereign rating and shows that the banking system is stabilizing, Staikouras said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Eleni Chrepa in Athens at echrepa@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sotiris Nikas at snikas@bloomberg.net, Jerrold Colten, Paul Tugwell

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