Greek debt crisis: What experts are saying about political and financial shock in eurozone

An emboldened Alexis Tsipras has signalled his willingness to return to the negotiating table and strike a deal with Greece's creditors after securing a stunning victory in the 5 July bailout referendum.

IBTimes UK takes a look at what the experts are saying and how they see key events unfolding over the next week.

Greek Banks

Philip Shaw of Investec:

"The major pressure point remains the banks. Cash machines are running dry, despite the imposition of capital controls a week ago. There is talk that the authorities are due to reduce further the €60 per day withdrawal limit, and that one of the big four banks is almost out of cash.

"Hence a critical decision will come from the ECB in the shape of its stance of the provision of Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) to the Greek banks. The ECB meets today (7 July) on ELA and we would expect the ECB to maintain its current level of €89bn."

Grexit?

Paul O'Connor, co-head of Henderson's Multi-Asset Team:

"Greece has taken a big step closer to 'Grexit' and a big leap into the unknown. This is a game-changer for Greece – if the situation is mishandled, it will also be a game-changer for the eurozone. Policy makers and politicians have critical decisions to make in the days ahead. Investors will naturally be on edge until the picture becomes clearer.

"The immediate impact of the referendum will be to greatly intensify financial and economic pressures in Greece. Now without a bailout, Greece will struggle to find the cash to pay for pensions and public sector wages. The government's only option may be to make these payments in some form of IOUs in the weeks ahead."

Ball in Eurozone's court

Salman Ahmed, Global Strategist & Portfolio Manager at Lombard Odier Investment Managers:

"At the top level, the EU will now have to decide if allowing Greece to lurch out of the European project makes sense, given the strong question mark such a development can raise on the irreversibility of the union. Let us not forget that Greece makes-up less than 2% of Eurozone GDP and has an economy, which is smaller than the size of Milan.

"In the days ahead, it will be critical to see if the EU still stands-by its pre-referendum stance, especially as the IMF and the US both have already weighed in with a need to look into debt relief for Greece, given the unsustainability of Greece's debt profile (although, IMF did note that the Greek government's stance has made the situation worse)."

Political manoeuvring

Bas van Geffen, analyst at Rabobank:

"Following the referendum it is difficult to see who now holds the reins. Tsipras feels like he should now be able to get a better deal, but Europe may feel different. For this reason, the chances of a Grexit have clearly risen. That is, we now see Greece on the path to leave the Eurozone, unless significant effort is put in from politicians on both ends of the bargaining table to prevent such an event.

"This does not mean that it will come to a Grexit, but it will certainly depend on what outcome European politicians will find more manageable: Grexit, or debt relief. Both could set a precedent for future cases."

Political contagion

Jane Foley, Senior Currency Strategist at Rabobank:

"This year's regional elections in Spain showed a strong showing for populist parties including the far left. Any concessions offered to Greece's far left government will be nervously watched by the incumbent Spanish government ahead of the national elections late in the year.

"Countries such as Ireland and Portugal may start to question the terms of their previous bailouts which could increase the pressure on European Monetary Union. On the other hand, not offering a bailout of some description to Greece will inevitably mean that the country defaults on its debt to the ECB. In this scenario the Bank of Greece could eventually be forced to start printing another currency."

Buy cheap as markets fluctuate?

Nigel Green, founder and chief executive of deVere Group:

"It remains unclear what has been ultimately achieved at this stage – except more chaos. This chaos will mean that investors will be braced for more turbulence and there could be a stock market sell-off over the coming days as investors seek perceived safe havens such as gilts and US treasuries.

"This predicted stock market sell-off and the resulting drop in prices will, of course, create an important buying opportunity, especially for investors with a longer-term perspective. With negotiations potentially taking an extended period of time, the uncertainty is likely to be protracted, meaning the sell-off and buying opportunity could also last some time – unlike last week when markets bounced back quickly. The buying opportunity will be seen as particularly attractive as much of the Eurozone is in recovery mode."