When it became clear in December 2014 that Syriza was ahead in the polls and that it might soon come to power, Stournaras did nothing to staunch a slow-bleeding bank run. Ahead of the election, better-off Greeks had already withdrawn 16 billion euros from the banks. When Tsipras took office, a further 8 billion euros were pulled out in a matter of only three weeks.26 The effect of this capital flight was to push the banks ever deeper into dependence on the ECB.
