ECB turns the screws on Greek banks

``Frankfurt's decision sent shock waves through Greece's banking sector as hardly anyone had expected it would use a haircut on collateral to send its own message before the political decisions expected on Tuesday in Brussels. In doing so, the ECB is further increasing the pressure on the Greek government to agree to a deal at Tuesday's eurozone summit, otherwise the country's banks may face a sustainability problem on top of their liquidity woes. The haircut increase reduces the last cash banks can draw from the emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) by two-thirds, running the risk of finding themselves unable to complete any transactions and thus be deemed insolvent.''