Serbia may tighten restrictions for Greek-owned banks: minister

BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbia may tighten transaction restrictions for Greek-owned banks there if the crisis in Greece worsens after Sunday's referendum, Finance Minister Dusan Vujovic said.

Last Monday, Serbia's central bank moved to limit transactions involving lenders whose parent banks are in Greece. The four Greek-owned banks in Serbia have a combined market share of 15 percent.

"In the next phase, if there's a worsening, (the central bank) will be giving written approvals for all the transactions (by Greek-owned banks) with the aim of preventing the outflow of capital," Vujovic told the private Belgrade station TV Pink.

Vujovic did not elaborate, but said Serbia had made contingency plans for various scenarios, including a Greek exit from the euro zone, a worsening of trade and economic relations between Greece and the rest of Europe, and even a Greek exit from the European Union.

(Reporting by Zoran Radosavljevic; Editing by Kevin Liffey)