Greek banks reopen to a surprise: no deluge of panic-stricken customers

'People have behaved so responsibly, so maturely,' say staff at historical Athens headquarters of National Bank of Greece on first day after 21-day forced closure

At 6am on Monday morning Dimitris Rombopoulos was at his post as the security guard outside the National Bank of Greece. By 6.30 the first of a small but steady stream of people, mostly white-haired pensioners, had begun to appear.

Rombopoulos, tall, dark, his tie slightly askew, was braced for the worst. "I thought after three weeks of the banks being closed it's going to be crazy," he said. "I thought maybe I'd need reinforcement."