ATHENS: Greece’s three-year yield jumped 193 basis points to 28.7 percent in March 2015. The decree could raise about 2 billion euros ($2.15 billion), said two people familiar with the decision.
The ‘‘regulation is submitted due to extremely urgent and unforeseen needs,’’ the government said. A default on the country’s 313 billion euros ($336 billion) of obligations and a decision to stop using the euro would plunge Greece into crisis, said a member of the European Central Bank governing council, Christian Noyer.
The decree is a sign of the ‘‘dire liquidity situation for the Greek financial system,’’ said Gianluca Ziglio, at Sunrise Brokers in London. The ‘‘next step may be forcing all public-sector entities, including public-sector companies, to do the same.’’ Greece’s main opposition party decried the seizure. Greece and its creditors remain at loggerheads. European leaders want Greece to do more to revamp its debt-burdened economy. But Greek officials say the government will not betray its electoral promises and worsen the pain that came from previous austerity measures.
