Island mayors protest Alpha Bank closures

Alpha Bank has unexpectedly decided to shut its branches on the islands of Tilos, Kasos and Lipsoi, forcing local residents to travel by boat to another island to get their banking done, their mayors said on Tuesday, according to the state-run Athens-Macedonian News Agency.

The mayors of the three islands sent a joint letter to Deputy Shipping and Island Policy Minister Nektarios Santorinios, protesting the decision to close the bank branches – and the ATMs – which they say the lender informed them about without any prior notice by fax on Monday.

The decision, effective as of next month, will leave the islands without any banks or ATM machines, the mayors say.

“We cannot understand the fact that from now on every islander will need to travel by sea for hours to pay any 10-euro government charge, or to pay a bill, or to conduct any sort of banking transaction,” the letter reads.

Alpha Bank was not immediately available for comment.