Greece raises protected bank account threshold to €1,600, Finance Minister announces

Greek Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis announced an increase in the protected (“unseizable”) minimum balance for bank accounts to €1,600, up from the current €1,250, during a speech in Parliament.

The measure applies to debts owed to the state and financial institutions and represents a 28% increase, which the minister said exceeds cumulative inflation levels, estimated at around 20%.

Speaking before the parliamentary plenary session in response to a question by MP Stratos Simopoulos, Pierrakakis stated that the previous threshold had been set in 2015 and reflected a period of severe fiscal constraints.

“The protected amount of €1,250 was set under the conditions of fiscal pressure at the time. That was the ceiling of financial suffocation,” the minister said, adding that the limit must now reflect current economic realities rather than past conditions.

He described the increase as an act of “justice and trust toward society,” stressing that it forms part of a broader government strategy to address private debt and support financial recovery mechanisms.

According to Pierrakakis, the policy aims to provide opportunities for economic restart to as many citizens as possible, emphasizing that economic growth must translate into broader social progress.

The revised threshold is expected to form part of ongoing reforms aimed at improving financial protection for vulnerable debtors while maintaining fiscal balance.