At this stage we are all fed with with the Greek story, the deal or no deal play has been going on far too long and in my opinion not taking away from the seriousness of the matter it has become like a school yard argument.

It looks as though the next few days will be pivotable in the decision making process as the IMF deadline looms however I for one don’t want to put my neck on the line and say we will definitely have a decision over the coming days.  Deep down I do strongly believe that some deal will be put together more than likely it will be left to the last minute, what the logistics of the deal might be I have no idea, but we will wait and see how the markets perceive it.

What caught my attention over the last few days was the idea of capital controls, unfortunately that term has been thrown around quite loosely without any real substance behind it. So what exactly do they mean when they say ‘Capital Controls?’

I suppose the best way to look at what they might look like is going back to Cyprus last year when we saw them implemented to to prevent a bank run along with capital flight from Cyprus, aiming to hold deposits and institutional money in Cypriot accounts. While this is easier said than done they did in fact implement strict rules which reduced the flow of money in and out of the country some examples can be seen below;

• Initially there was a 2 week bank holiday during this period all banking institutions were closed in Cyprus. 
• Cash withdrawals were limited to €300 per day for individuals.
• Payments to external institutions were capped at €5000, although larger payments could be approved provided they were genuine trade transactions. 

Whether this will happen is another thing, but it will be interesting to see if they adopt the same style capital controls in Greece if needs be!