4 ms·

It's not about advantage/better. It's all about regulation. I.e. You simply can't bank across a border due to all sorts of regulations and laws. And I think th

by zo1 11y ago

It's not about advantage/better. It's all about regulation. I.e. You simply can't bank across a border due to all sorts of regulations and laws. And I think that applies to both sides of the fence, both on the Greece side, and on all the "foreign" countries that you think can provide a "global" service to the Greeks. The bank and the state are intertwined due to this, and any failure on one will most likely affect the other. This will be the case until a true free-market approach is taken by banks. Are there decent middle-grounds between regulation and free-market? Sure, things could chug along.

rjtavares 11y ago
That's the whole point of having a single currency and a common market... I should be able to open an account in any Eurozone bank without much trouble.
SturgeonsLaw 11y ago
> You simply can't bank across a border due to all sorts of regulations and laws I wonder how many people told Travis Kalanick you simply can't start a taxi competitor due to all sorts of regulations and laws
tim333 11y ago
>You simply can't bank across a border In my experience that varies. I have bank accounts in the UK, US, and Spain and in terms of saving money and transferring it there's usually no problem. Where it is localised is borrowing money against property. If you want a mortgage against a Spanish flat you have to use a Spanish bank and so on. That kind of makes sense as if you run off and don't pay the mortgage then the bank is stuck with the property and it's easier to deal with one down the road where you know the laws and regulations than one in some random other country. Especially if evicting tenants and so on is involved, things get pretty complicated.
- zo1 11y ago
  Okay, but let's assume this in the context of Greece. I understand that everything sorta "works" semi-smoothly when everything is fine. I too have managed to move money over borders, between accounts, etc. But in the context of the Greek situation? I.e. Imagine someone wanting to come in now (or at the start of the crisis?) in order to open up a new "foreign" bank and offer it to Greek individuals? Because the regulation is so intertwined, and this mess of the loans and ECB, means that no one dare do that. They'd have to jump through mountains of regulation, come up with some sort of initial capital to fund the bank (with no idea whether they could have legal access to it again), and on top of that all, give the new Greek depositors any sort of guarantee. A tall order, to say the least. Another point, sorta tangential. You can also barely have an "informal" bank by virtue of transferring money to a foreign bank. Have a look at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawala https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawala I haven't confirmed, but I'd bet that almost every single country in the world defines that sort of transfer as illegal. Or additionally: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_exchange_controls https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_exchange_controls

by zo1 11y ago

rjtavares 11y ago

That's the whole point of having a single currency and a common market... I should be able to open an account in any Eurozone bank without much trouble.

SturgeonsLaw 11y ago

> You simply can't bank across a border due to all sorts of regulations and laws I wonder how many people told Travis Kalanick you simply can't start a taxi competitor due to all sorts of regulations and laws

tim333 11y ago

>You simply can't bank across a border In my experience that varies. I have bank accounts in the UK, US, and Spain and in terms of saving money and transferring it there's usually no problem. Where it is localised is borrowing money against property. If you want a mortgage against a Spanish flat you have to use a Spanish bank and so on. That kind of makes sense as if you run off and don't pay the mortgage then the bank is stuck with the property and it's easier to deal with one down the road where you know the laws and regulations than one in some random other country. Especially if evicting tenants and so on is involved, things get pretty complicated.

zo1 11y ago
Okay, but let's assume this in the context of Greece. I understand that everything sorta "works" semi-smoothly when everything is fine. I too have managed to move money over borders, between accounts, etc. But in the context of the Greek situation? I.e. Imagine someone wanting to come in now (or at the start of the crisis?) in order to open up a new "foreign" bank and offer it to Greek individuals? Because the regulation is so intertwined, and this mess of the loans and ECB, means that no one dare do that. They'd have to jump through mountains of regulation, come up with some sort of initial capital to fund the bank (with no idea whether they could have legal access to it again), and on top of that all, give the new Greek depositors any sort of guarantee. A tall order, to say the least. Another point, sorta tangential. You can also barely have an "informal" bank by virtue of transferring money to a foreign bank. Have a look at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawala https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawala I haven't confirmed, but I'd bet that almost every single country in the world defines that sort of transfer as illegal. Or additionally: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_exchange_controls https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_exchange_controls