Greek banks hit as people, firms move money offshore

Greek banks are being hit by a wave of redemptions as rich citizens and companies look to move their money to big global banks or offshore as the country's debt crisis rages, the Telegraph newspaper reported on its website.

Big depositors have been clamouring to move their cash to international financial firms such as HSBC <HSBA.KL> or France's Societe Generale <SOGN.PA>, which operate large branches in the country.

They are among those to have received several billion euros of new money in recent weeks, the Telegraph reported late on Monday.

HSBC's private banking in the country is understood to have been flooded with business, while the local operations of several other major international banks have already seen large inflows of money. A spokesman for HSBC declined to comment, the newspaper said.

More than 3 billion euros ($4.05 billion) of deposits held by Greek households and companies left the country in February, while in January about 5 billion euros of deposits were moved out, according to figures from the Bank of Greece, underscoring worries about capital flight from the country.

Switzerland, the UK and Cyprus have been the largest recipients of the money, with the wealthiest Greeks looking to move their deposits to Swiss banks accounts to escape the more punitive tax measures many fear will be introduced in the wake of the country's economic crisis.