Pew, IMF Research Shows Bank Holidays Rare In Financial Crisis

Financial crisis such as being witnessed in Greece is unusual for one important reason, new observations from the Pew Research Center show.  Culling data from the International Monetary Fund’s research database, the Pew analysis points to issues that those with money in Greece might anticipate in the future.

Banking holidays are a rare occurrence in financial crisis

The researcher observed that bank holidays, such as that in Greece, are a rare event even during crisis. In 147 banking crisis studied, in only seven cases did national governments freeze bank deposits. Separate analysis notes that this activity took place primarily after the concept of currencies not tied to gold blossomed. The seven events were: Argentina (in 1989 and again in 2001-02),...