Re: New EC Thread

[Badboy]

CYPRUS'S PARLIAMENT HAS VOTED AGAINST THE PLANNED BANK LEVY.
WHAT NEXT?

[Panda]

Cyprus Bailout: Savings Tax Rejected By MPs


The vote against a deeply unpopular plan to tax bank
deposits puts an international bailout for the troubled economy into doubt.



7:34pm UK,
Tuesday 19 March 2013


Protesters cheered and sang the national anthem as the
levy was rejected



Former Labour Chancellor Alistair Darling tells Sky News
why the Cyprus bailout makes no sense and sends out the wrong signals to the
rest of the eurozone. Speaking on Jeff Randall Live Mr Darling warned the crisis
risks causing contagion and long term problems.

Video: Darling Warns Over Cyprus
Crisis
Enlarge

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Cypriot lawmakers have voted overwhelmingly against a deeply
unpopular plan to tax bank deposits, putting an international bailout in
jeopardy.

The 56-seat parliament buried the bill with 36 votes against and 19
abstentions. One member of parliament was not present.

The seizure of savers' deposits, in return for shares in the lenders, was
meant to raise 5.8 billion euros (£4.96bn), towards the country's financial
rescue.

But outrage from Cypriots and the impact on international markets had already
apparently pushed politicians to consider an exemption for smaller savers.

The draft bill being discussed in parliament was believed to suggest a 6.75%
tax on all savings between 20,000 and 100,000 euros and 9.9% on all savings over
100,000 euros.

But even that was dismissed by MPs after the ruling party tried to delay the
vote for a day before deciding not to take part.
Cypriot banks have been closed until at least
Thursday
Opposition MP Pambos Papageorgiou told Sky News: "We were asked to legitimise
the confiscation of savings, that has never happened anywhere in the world.

"It would have set a very dangerous precedent for the whole of Europe. Don't
forget that for the whole of Europe there is a law protecting up to 100,000
euros in terms of savings."

Outside parliament, thousands of protesters gathered holding up banners
reading "Hands Off Cyprus" and chanted: "It will not pass".

When the bill was rejected they cheered and sang the national anthem.

EU countries said before the vote that they would withhold 10bn euros
(£8.5bn) in bailout loans unless depositors in Cyprus shared the cost of the
rescue.

However, amid the backlash against the plan to hit all savers, eurozone
finance ministers had pushed Nicosia to only target accounts with more than
100,000 euros.
Protesters gathered outside parliament before
the bailout vote
The European Central Bank said after the vote it was still committed to
providing liquidity to Cyprus' cash-strapped banks within "exisiting rules".

Banks have been closed since before the weekend in order to prevent a run on
them and were not due to reopen until Thursday.

Nicholas Papadopoulos, the chairman of the parliamentary finance committee,
said banks would now stay shut "for as long as we need to conclude an
agreement".

He stressed this would be "in the next few days".

Earlier, a plane left Britain for Cyprus with one million euros onboard to
ensure soldiers have access to cash during the crisis.

British soldiers stationed on the island and their families would be able to
borrow from the money flown out of Brize Norton if cash machines and debit cards
in Cyprus stop working completely, the Ministry of Defence said.

"The MoD is proactively approaching personnel to ask if they want their
March, and future months' salaries paid into UK bank accounts, rather than
Cypriot accounts," it said in a statement.

"We're determined to do everything we can to minimise the impact of the
Cyprus banking crisis on our people."

Around 2,500 to 3,000 British military personnel are currently stationed in
Cyprus.

Chancellor George Osborne has already pledged that military personnel and
civil servants would be protected from the levy, telling Cabinet they would be
"compensated in full" for any losses.

Earlier it was reported that Cyprus' finance minister had resigned amid the
fallout from the original proposal, but Reuters said Michael Sarris had told
them by text message that there was "no truth" to the story.

He has flown to Moscow to seek Russian financial assistance for the
island
=====================================
Badboy, The Cyprus Government asked Russia to lend money a while ago but were turned down. Now, Russia is prepared to lend money because the alternative is the Cypriot Banks close and the Russians lose all the money they have stashed in Cyprus Banks. whether Germany and the IMF deliberately instigated the tax to force Russia to lend money, i don't know , but it is a dangerous game they are playing.

[Panda]

Party leaders rush to assemble 'Plan B'
• Asmussen warns no
ECB liquidity without bailout
• Cyprus turns to Russia after parliament rejects
bank levy
• Cyprus rescue in chaos as bank levy
rejected
• Bail-out tantamount to 'blackmail', says
former bank governor
• Anastasiades predicts defeat in
parliamentary vote
• Cyprus governments bins levy up to
€20,000 in draft bill
• Eurogroup urges Cyprus to protect small
depositors




Latest





17.10 The BBC's Joe Lynam reports that it's
official that Cypriot banks will now not open until Tuesday.



Monday March 25 is already a bank holiday.



Twitter: Joe Lynam BBC Biz - #Cyprus central bank confirms that Cypriot banks will remain closed now until TUES next week







17.07 Apparently the troika has its own
plan, and it involves slashing the amount raised by the deposit levy
from €5.8bn to €2bn.

Twitter: 50 Pips - CYPRUS-TROIKA PLAN WLD CUT DEPOSIT LEVY TO E2 BLN: GOVT SOURCE



17.00 The Cypriot cabinet has reportedly gathered for a
crisis session, which started at 4.15pm GMT, according to French news agency
AFP. Cyprus state radio said measures on the table include imposing
capital controls to restrict the outflow of cash from the
island once banks reopen, and splitting up "good banks" and "bad
banks".
It is also though that President Nicos Anastasiades has called a meeting of
party leaders for 7am GMT tomorrow morning.





16.55 Russian newspaper tycoon, Alexander
Lebedev, who owns the Independent and Evening
Standard, has said "dirty money" from the former Soviet state
will not flow into London from Cyprus. Speaking to Bloomberg
TV, he said:
This money may come into Hyde Park One or the pockets of a
few lawyers, but otherwise it will still be kept outside Britain.

It will be sitting outside in offshore jurisdictions.




Russian newspaper tycoon Alexander Lebedev





16.26 European Parliament president Martin
Schulz has added his voice to the choir urging Cyprus to stick
with the EU as its creditor, while admitting the Eurogroup was "unwise"
to agree to the bank levy in the first place.
Twitter: Martin Schulz - Decision of the eurogroup on #Cyprus was unwise and resulted in major problems for the eurozone. We need an #EU solution, not external.





16.23 Cypriot broadcaster CYBC is reporting
that the cabinet is considering capital controls, presumably to
avoid a capital flight from the island once the banks re-open.


Twitter: Owen Callan - *CYPRUS CABINET TO DISCUSS DECREE ON CAPITAL CONTROLS: CYBC



16.13 Our Brussels correspondent Bruno
Waterfield has pointed out that Britons with savings in Cypriot banks
face a far worse fate than the bank levy should the ECB puts an end to liquidity
injections:
Twitter: Bruno Waterfield - Brits faced a hit on savings, now face losing everything if ECB pulls liquidity plug - #Cyprus can't afford deposit guarantees


16.00 It seems contagion does not always spread two ways.
Although the Cypriot banking system was brought to its knees by the Greek
banking crisis, Hellenic finance minister Yannis Stournaras has
assured his countrymen they are "shielded" from the Cyprus fallout, according to
Reuters.

He also confirmed reports that two of Greece's biggest lenders had shown
interest in acquiring the Greek subsidiaries of three Cypriot banks - Bank of
Cyprus, Cyprus Popular Bank and Hellenic Bank.




Yannis Stournaras, Greek finance minister





^{15.55 Bloomberg} has reported that the ECB is
assuming that banks in Cyprus will not reopen until March 26 at the
earliest, meaning it will put off a decision on whether to extend or
halt its emergency liquidity assistance (ELA).

ECB policymakers gather today and tomorrow in Frankfurt for their regular
mid-month meeting, but do not intend to make a decision on ELA to Cyprus until a
political decision has been taken on the island, it said.

They have the full story here. Earlier
(10.19) we reported ECB governing council member Joerg Asmussen
warning Cyprus that the ECB can only provide liquidity to solvent banks,
implying that if the island does not accept the bailout, ECB support will halt.






15.47 Fabrizio Goria, a reporter at Italian newspaper
Linkiesta, has tweeted this breakdown of Cyprus bank deposits. Cyprus could
raise 63pc of the €5.8bn levy from deposits over €100,000 using the originally
proposed 9.9pc rate.

[Panda]

The ECB has announced that it will not bailout Cyprus if a decision is not reached by Monday.

There is concern that if Russia does not agree to lend more money to Cyprus the Russian Oligarchs etc will move their money to another Country and virtually bankrupt Cyprus overnight.Many oligarchs could bail out Cyprus from the amount of money they have in their Banks but know they will not be repaid.
Cypriots are gathered around Parliamet shouting that they want out of the EU and Russia to lend them money.

[Panda]

Cyprus: The other guy’s always to blame

21 March 2013Frankfurter Rundschau Frankfurt

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Bojesen
Greedy banks, the EU or Angela Merkel: The search for the culprit in Cyprus is running along the usual fault lines of the euro crisis. But do individuals not share in the responsibility for the mistakes of their society? That would mean the Cypriots would have to give up some of their savings deposits.

Matthias HorxPhilokypros Andreou, the President of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry, brings up the war. “It's like in 1974, when the Turks marched in! This is a financial genocide,” he yelled in an interview with the newspaper Die Welt. “Our financial industry has been ruined! Merkel and Schäuble are hurting innocent people!”
Genocide. Aha. The German media loves strong coffee too. “Confidence in gravest danger!” or “New fear strikes Europe!”, “Are we facing a run on the banks?” And so a much-anticipated panic is whipped up – in all innocence of course: We only want to tell it like it is!
“Yes, we have corrupt bankers and politicians. But we Cypriots are the victims!” says Andreou. Really? Cyprus has a bizarrely bloated banking sector, and little actual commerce. Taxes are super low. If new highways, new ports and great pedestrian zones are being built in my community, even though the taxes are low and commerce sluggish, then do I as an ordinary citizen have nothing to do with it?
Citizens of a corrupt system

Small savings deposits in Cyprus were supposed to contribute 3 per cent to resolving the crisis – larger accounts, 6 or 10 per cent. Of course, one could also have levied a special tax. But then the owners of accounts holding thick wads of laundered money from abroad would be sitting pretty. The only thing left for Cyprus is to become a protectorate of Russia, accompanied by the usual protest circus parading effigies of Merkel in a Hitler mask, spurred by the infantile presumption that “Europe wants to destroy Cyprus.”
I have some Greek friends, in no way rich, who have long understood that as citizens they were part of a corrupt system. They were not corrupt personally, but they do know that there is such a thing as society, whose faults one is jointly responsible for. This is a great thing and it is a condition for building trust, which alone gives a society any future. In the Scandinavian countries, that’s exactly how the citizens reacted to their major economic crisis in the early 90s: they shouldered the responsibility jointly.
Delegating democracy

Europe is not threatened by the viciousness of the bankers or the incompetence of the politicians. It’s threatened by the delegating of democracy, by the fixed idea that “the ones up top” are responsible for everyone and to blame for everything, and by the tendency to elect politicians only to insult them and replace them with Beppo Grillos all stripes.
Even in this country, this murmur is everywhere. Germany has problems of poverty? The rich are to blame. We have bad schools? The politicians should sort it out. The pensions are not affordable? The state should cough up. That’s the murmur on every talk show, in every tram.
Democracy is that which does not concern me, but what others pay for. We want to control everything, but prefer to keep our fingers out of the heat. Democracy, though, is something other than mere consumerism.

[Panda]

16.59 Is
Cyprus small enough to fail without bringing the euro crashing
down? That's the question asked by the Telegraph's man in Brussels,
Bruno Waterfield. He says the euro is facing another "existential moment":

Cyprus only
represents 0.2pc of European GDP and following the ECB’s big bazooka pledge to
intervene to shore up sovereign bonds in the event of market contagion there is
confidence that the island is small enough to fail.

The writing might be on wall after a telephone conference of eurozone
finance ministries on Wednesday night, a get together boycotted by Cyprus.


During the meeting there was “open talk” of Cyprus leaving the euro and
the imposition of capital controls to prevent runs on banks, presumably intended
across southern Europe.

Here lies a risk, bank failure in Cyprus (and the clearly hollow promise
of deposit guarantees that can be overridden by levies and are only as good as
the sovereign state that makes them) could spark contagion.

The cure of capital controls could be as bad as the disease as credit
flows stop, a scenario compounded if Cyprus leaves the euro. Can the euro
survive if Cyprus leaves? That is the now question.

16.51 Matina Stevis, a journalist with Dow Jones and the
Wall Street Jornal, has reported on emotional scenes outside the Cypriot
parliament where bank workers, unsure of their future, have gathered.


16.49 CNBC's chief international correspondent
(@MCaruso_Cabrera) has tweeted a picture of the protests happening in Cyprus
this evening.



16.30 Cue the Jaws theme tune. The front cover of
tomorrow's Economist is doing the rounds on Twitter and it is certainly
fitting (picture: @NEWSontheWHARF):



16.13 Local news channel Sigma is live streaming the scenes
outside the Cypriot parliament building. Crowds are gathering ahead of the
government's unveiling of its solidarity fund, which it is due to present to
parliament at 5pm GMT. You can watch the live feed here (though
you'll need to understand Greek to follow the commentary).



16.10 More from the central bank:

Twitter: Steve Collins - Cyprus CB says trying to find solution to Laiki - says closure and restructure not the same thing.



16.05 There is a strong sense of betrayal among Cypriot
politicians. One Cypriot MEP bemoaned the "lack of European solidarity" around
the situation. Speaking to think tank Friends of Europe, Antigoni
Papadopoulou said:

There is a real lack of European solidarity, which is
something we sought for. We made many sacrifices in order to integrate the
Republic of Cyprus into the great European family in 2008. We don’t want to
leave this family, we want to remain part of eurozone and the EU. But we are
waiting for answers to a host of questions at this critical hour, when Cyprus is
knocking at the gates of our EU partners.



16.00 But the central bank has repeated its
denial that Cyprus Popular Bank - the island's second largest
lender - could close forever.



15.54 Now Cypriot broadcaster CYBC is
reporting that Cyprus Popular Bank aka Laiki Bank, which is
feared to be at risk of permanent closure, will be split into a good and bad
bank and deposits under €100,000 protected.

[Angelina]

What a mess. Are they actually going to be the ones who start the ball rolling...is this the beginning of the end for the Euro?

[Panda]

What a mess. Are they actually going to be the ones who start the ball rolling...is this the beginning of the end for the Euro?

Hi Angelina, Cyprus is caught between a rock and a hard place, The Country is broke and it is likely the troika will not bail them out because they know Cyprus Banks are full of Laundered money. A Friend of mine living in Northern Cyprus sold her House about 18 months ago to a Russian Woman who said she wanted it for her Son and gave her E100,000 euros in cash , even bought a friends car for cash!!! Cyprus asked Russia to bail her out a few months ago but the Russians guessed they would not be paid , the oligarchs similarly will not bail Cyprus out . The ECB have given an ultimatum because they are gambling that if Cyprus does leave the EU it will not have a domino effect on the other Countries.

[Panda]

Top StoriesTop Stories


Cyprus Bank Limits Cash Withdrawals Amid Crisis



Russia Considers Aid For Cyprus


Last Updated: 8:47PM 21/03/2013



Cyprus' second largest bank has stopped customers withdrawing more than 260 euros (£221) a day from cash machines, as MPs try to reach a deal to save the country's economy.

The announcement came as the central bank said it had proposed a restructuring of the heavily indebted banking sector, including measures to prevent the Popular Bank, or Laika, going bankrupt.
"This consolidation process will prevent the risk of bank failures and protect in their entirety all insured deposits up to the amount of 100,000 euros," central bank governor Panicos Demetriades said.
"It also creates conditions for the recovery of the banking system and guarantees jobs."
Earlier, as long queues formed as cash machines at Popular Bank branches across the island, the central bank was forced to deny rumours it was to be closed down.
Banks in Cyprus closed their doors last Friday and will remain shut until next Tuesday amid fears that the country's financial crisis could prompt a run on the banks.
However, many customers have begun to fear that the troubled Popular Bank will never re-open.
"I've been to five ATMs, looking for the one with the smallest queue. The others had really long queues, at least 40 or 50 people," Peter Larkin, a Nicosia resident waiting in line with his five-year-old daughter, said.
"There's a lot of rumours that Laiki is going to go bankrupt and that (their ATMs) will stop giving out money."
The Popular Bank said it was the high demand for cash that had forced them to reduce the amount customers could take out from 700 euros.
The bank's employees staged an angry protest outside parliament amid the uncertainty, at one point breaking through a police cordon around the building.
Sky's Ashish Joshi, reporting from outside parliament, said: "They are afraid about losing their jobs.
"The word has got out that the banks might be sacrificed in some shape or form for Cyprus to come up with its obligation."
The island's banking sector could face collapse if a new bailout bill is not agreed, following parliament's rejection of a one containing a levy on all bank accounts in the country.
Parliament was due to vote on Thursday evening on a 'Plan B' to raise the 5.8bn euros (£4.9bn) Cyprus needs to contribute if it is to get the 10bn euros (£8.5bn) from eurozone partners and the IMF.
Local media reported the restructuring of the Popular Bank could raise an estimated 2bn euros of that money.
Party leaders have also reportedly agreed to set up an "Investment Solidarity Fund" to gather contributions from ordinary Cypriots, businessmen and foreign investors in an attempt to raise the cash.
As the Cypriot MPs debated, eurozone finance ministers said they were willing to work with Nicosia on new plans to make the restructuring plan work.
"The Eurogroup stands ready to discuss with the Cypriot authorities a draft new proposal, which it expects the Cyprus authorities to present as rapidly as possible," Eurogroup chairman and Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem said.
The country's largest bank, the Bank of Cyprus, has appealed for MPs to pass a bailout deal.
"The Cyprus economy is on the brink and in a fragile state. The next move may prove its salvation or destruction," the bank said in a statement.
The European Central Bank (ECB) has said it will only guarantee assistance until Monday night without a new aid programme being in place.
Meanwhile, ratings agency Standard & Poor's cut the sovereign long-term foreign currency credit rating on Cyprus deeper into junk status, lowering it to CCC from CCC-plus.

• Related Stories
  
• Cash Queues In Cyprus Despite 'Plan B'
  
• Russian Money Talks In Cyprus Bailout Deal
  
• Cyprus Banks To Remain Closed Amid Crisis
  

Categories

[fuzeta]

What a mess. Are they actually going to be the ones who start the ball rolling...is this the beginning of the end for the Euro?

What a con it all is Angelina. It gets worse by the day. The sooner this stupid currency ends the better. It is all so corrupt and countries are suffering terribly. Let them all get back to their own currency. Yes they say we will all suffer if this happens but what they mean is the banks and the financial institutions. We will suffer but we will all get over it as we always do. They are keeping us all afraid, propaganda at it's best

[Panda]

Even if Cyprus gets a loan from Russia, the money won't last long , the problem is Cyprus owes money to other Countries . Banks have morphed into gambling , not investing and weak monitoring has allowed them to do as they please with other peoples' money. They have no conscience and continue to pay themselves huge Salaries and Bonuses.
They refuse to lend money so the Government has had to step in and offer loans...what puzzles me is why shareholders put up with it !!

[Badboy]

I READ ON MY TWITTER ACCOUNT THA MANY GREEKS ARE STARTING ALTERNATIVE/GREEN TOURISM BUSINESSES.

[Panda]

Cyprus Bailout: MPs Stumble Towards Deal


Cypriot MPs approve a plan to nationalise pensions and
capital control measures as they attempt to meet bailout conditions.


1:51am UK,
Saturday 23 March 2013

MPs pass several measures aimed at securing
bailout

The
difference in cost of 10-year bonds across Europe,
with market yield rates
(in percentage terms) at
10.00am GMT on March 22.

Greece

Portugal

Spain

Italy

UK

Germany

024681012

11.92

6.064.864.571.841.34

FusionCharts

Reuters

Graph: 10-Year Bond Yields Comparison
Between EU And UK
Enlarge

• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
  
  
  
  The Cypriot parliament has approved a number of measures designed
  to restructure the economy and raise funds in order to secure an EU bailout.
  
  MPs voted in favour of a "national solidarity fund" - which would nationalise
  pension funds, with bonds issued against future natural gas revenues - and
  capital controls to prevent a run on the island's troubled banks.
  
  They also backed legislation to permit the restructuring of troubled banks to
  prevent their collapse.
  
  The first of the package of measures were agreed shortly after it emerged
  Cyprus was reportedly considering a levy of 15% on all bank deposits over
  100,000 euros as its attempt to secure a rescue for the economy.
  
  The original terms of the EU bailout for Cyprus proposed by the troika of
  international lenders would have slapped a levy on all bank deposits - 6.75% on
  accounts holding up to 100,000 euros and 9.9% on those over that - in order to
  raise 5.8bn euros (£4.9bn).
  
  But that was overwhelmingly rejected by MPs earlier in the week, leaving them
  less than a week to find a 'Plan B' with which to raise the cash.
  
  The European Central Bank (ECB) has said it will only guarantee assistance
  until Monday night without a new aid programme being in place.
  
  Cyprus state television reported the levy, albeit in a revised form, was now
  back on the table in negotiations with eurozone lenders after other attempts to
  secure funding had failed.
  
  The Bank of Cyprus, the island's largest, has urged politicians to accept a
  tax on bank deposits in order to prevent collapse.
  
  "It should be understood by everyone ... especially from the 56 members of
  parliament ... there should not be any further delay in the adoption of the
  eurogroup proposal to impose a levy on deposits more than 100,000 to save our
  banking system," bank chairman Andreas Artemis said in a statement.
  
  The chief of ailing Cyprus Popular Bank, the island's second largest, also
  criticised attempts to find another solution.
  
  "Although we knew the gravity of the situation, and the initial proposal of
  the eurogroup was painful, it ensured the future of the banking sector," Takis
  Phidias told state radio.
  
  The levy, as well as a number of other contentious measures, remain to be
  debated by parliament.
  
  However, President Nicos Anastasiades will travel to Brussels on Saturday to
  present the plan to the country's prospective creditors, its fellow eurozone
  countries and the International Monetary Fund.
  
  Banks in Cyprus have been shut since last Friday and will stay closed until
  next Tuesday amid fears that the ongoing crisis will prompt a run on them.
  
  Cash machines have seen long queues as customers have tried to get at least
  some of their savings out of the stricken banking system.
  

[Panda]

"The first of the package of measures were agreed shortly after it emerged
Cyprus was reportedly considering a levy of 15% on all bank deposits over
100,000 euros as its attempt to secure a rescue for the economy."
Question: what's to stop all these Oligarchs closing their accounts and moving their money to another Country rather than pay 15% tax?This would surely create a run on the Banks !!

[Panda]

Leading politicians in Cyprus are set to fly to Brussels
for talks, as attempts to stave off bankruptcy in the country continue.


8:42am UK,
Saturday 23 March 2013



Video: Cyprus MPs Pass Bailout
Measures
Enlarge

The
difference in cost of 10-year bonds across Europe,
with market yield rates
(in percentage terms) at
10.00am GMT on March 22.

Greece

Portugal

Spain

Italy

UK

Germany

024681012

11.92

6.064.864.571.841.34

FusionCharts

Reuters

Graph: 10-Year Bond Yields Comparison
Between EU And UK
Enlarge

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• 
  
  
• 
  
  
  
• 
  [email=?subject=Shared from Sky News: Cyprus%20Leaders%20Head%20To%20Brussels%20For%20Talks&body=Shared from Sky News: Cyprus%20Leaders%20Head%20To%20Brussels%20For%20Talks http://news.sky.com/story/1068729]Email[/email]
  

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Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and party leaders will travel
to Brussels today for talks with the EU on measures aimed at staving off
bankruptcy for the island.


The delegation will depart at lunchtime and return to Cyprus late on Saturday
or on Sunday, the official CNA news agency has reported.


The trip comes a day ahead of a deadline to adopt measures aimed at raising
5.8bn euros (£4.9bn) in order to secure a 10bn euro bailout.


The Cypriot parliament has approved a number of measures designed to
restructure the economy and raise funds in order to secure the bailout.


MPs have voted in favour of a "national solidarity fund" - which would
nationalise pension funds, with bonds issued against future natural gas revenues
- and capital controls to prevent a run on the island's troubled banks.


They also backed legislation to permit the restructuring of troubled banks to
prevent their collapse.
Protest outside the parliament building in the
capital Nicosia

The first of the package of measures were agreed shortly after it emerged
Cyprus was reportedly considering a levy of 15% on all bank deposits over
100,000 euros as its attempt to secure a rescue for the economy.


The original terms of the EU bailout for Cyprus proposed by the troika of
international lenders would have slapped a levy on all bank deposits - 6.75% on
accounts holding up to 100,000 euros and 9.9% on those over that - in order to
raise the 5.8bn euros.


But that was overwhelmingly rejected by MPs earlier in the week, leaving them
less than a week to find a "Plan B" with which to raise the cash.


The European Central Bank (ECB) has said it will only guarantee assistance
until Monday night without a new aid programme being in place.


Cyprus state television reported the levy, albeit in a revised form, was now
back on the table in negotiations with eurozone lenders after other attempts to
secure funding had failed.


Banks in Cyprus have been shut since last Friday and will stay closed until
next Tuesday amid fears that the ongoing crisis will prompt a run on them.


Cash machines have seen long queues as customers have tried to get at least
some of their savings out of the stricken banking system.


================================

It appears that Merkel has overstepped the mark with this new proposal. her Political rivals in the German Parliament are suggesting she has done this
to gain support for the September elections but that now it appears Russia will not be bailing out Cyprus she is between a rock and a hard place.

[Panda]

23 March 2013 Last updated at 11:20

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Cyprus officials due in Brussels for crunch talks






Continue
reading the main story

Eurozone
crisis

• Bailout explained
  
• Possible scenarios
  
• Eurozone rift
  
• German gamble
  

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades
and party leaders are due in Brussels for last-ditch talks on how to secure
crucial EU funding.

Cyprus has to raise 5.8bn euros (£4.9bn; $7.5bn) before Monday to qualify for
a 10bn-euro bailout.

Parliament voted on Friday to restructure the island's banks, set up a
"national solidarity fund", and establish capital controls.

But it has yet to vote on other key measures, including a bank levy.

The Cypriot parliament is not expected to reconvene until after European
finance ministers meet on Sunday, Reuters news agency reported.

It reported that Cypriot officials were holding talks with the "troika" of
the EU, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund on
Saturday morning, and that Mr Anastasiades would decide whether to travel to
Brussels based on the outcome of the meeting.

The European Central Bank has given Cyprus until Monday to raise the bailout
money, or it says it will cut off funds to the banks, meaning they would
collapse, possibly pushing the country out of the eurozone.

Continue reading the main story
Analysis



Chris Morris BBC News,
Nicosia

---

The eurozone is really turning the screw on Cyprus, and it's being led by
Germany.

The message is crystal clear - your economic model has to change. They will
no longer accept the idea of a national economy within the eurozone that is
dependent on its reputation as an offshore tax haven.

There is huge irritation with the way the Cypriots have handled things, and
that has led to the imposition of deadlines which mean big decisions need to be
taken very quickly.

The cost of cleaning up the Cypriot banking system must be borne by investors
in the Cypriot banking system - like it or lump it.


Cyprus now needs to find out what money-raising measures
the EU will accept before putting them to a vote, the BBC's Chris Morris reports
from Nicosia.

He says Germany is essentially writing the rules for the eurozone, and the
message coming from Brussels and Berlin is that the money has to come from the
banking sector.

Germany has voiced opposition to another measure approved by the Cypriot
parliament on Friday - nationalising some pensions to pay into a solidarity fund
along with other assets.

Germany has also made it clear that it will no longer accept an economy
within the eurozone that is dominated by its status as an economic tax haven,
our correspondent adds.

A bank levy for account holders with deposits of more than 100,000 euros is
therefore back on the table.

Leading Cypriot bankers have urged parliament to accept a levy, with small
savers exempted.

Russian money

On Tuesday, parliament overwhelmingly rejected a levy that would have made
small savers pay 6.75%, while larger investors would have paid 9.9%.

The proposal provoked widespread anger among both ordinary savers and
large-scale foreign investors, many of them Russian. Russia is a key investor in
Cyprus.

Continue reading the main story
German press commentary

• Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: "The irritation of the
  Europeans, who want to use taxpayers' money to help the Cypriots get back on
  their feet, is justified since, unlike a small debtor whose bank account
  overdraft has been cancelled, Nicosia still seems to believe that it does not
  have to fear the worst because creditors from London to Moscow and the EU
  partners would never allow the worst to happen."
  
• Die Welt: "Dismay in Europe: What Cyprus is selling as a
  'plan B' would neither reduce state debt nor encourage important economic
  reforms. German politicians simply call it 'cheek'."
  

The government fears a levy would prompt foreign
investors to withdraw their money, destroying one of the island's biggest
industries.

Cypriot Finance Minister Michael Sarris travelled to Moscow this week to seek
Russian support for alternative funding methods, but Russia said it would only
act after the EU reached a deal with Cyprus.

Among nine bills approved on Friday, Cyprus's parliament voted to restructure
of the banking sector, starting with the country's second largest and most
troubled lender, Laiki (Popular) Bank.

Under the restructuring, Cyprus's troubled lenders will be split into
so-called good and bad banks, protecting smaller deposits but allowing levies on
bigger ones.

There is now speculation that the island's biggest lender, the Bank of
Cyprus, will also be restructured.

Parliament also voted for capital controls to prevent large withdrawals from
Cyprus.

Banks in Cyprus have been closed since Monday and many businesses are only
taking payment in cash.

Anthanasios Orphanides, former governor of the Cyprus Central Bank, told the
BBC that Cyprus was a victim of German domestic political pressures ahead of a
general election there later this year.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her party needed to avoid be accused of
using "German taxpayers' money to pay off Russian oligarchs who are doing money
laundering in Cyprus", he said - even though "there is no evidence and none has
been produced of Russian money laundering in Cyprus

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Take a pile of euros and watch out for thieves, Foreign Office tells Britons
going on holiday to Cyprus


Easter holidaymakers planning a trip to Cyprus have been told by the British
Government take piles of euros with them - and watch out for thieves - as the
country faces financial meltdown.








Advice published by the Foreign
Office is urging Britons to take enough cash 'to cover the duration of your
stay' Photo:
Getty






By Christopher Hope, and Richard Spencer
in Nicosia

7:26PM GMT 22 Mar 2013


392 Comments




Every year one million Britons visit Cyprus, with many of them choosing
to go on holiday over the long Easter weekend.


Advice published on the Foreign Office's website is urging Britons to take
enough cash “to cover the duration of your stay” and take “appropriate security
precautions”.


The official guidance prompted fears that British tourists could be at
greater risk of crime in Cyprus where banks have remained shut during the
financial crisis.


The advice, published on the Foreign Office’s website, said: “The Government
of Cyprus has announced an extended bank closure.


“ATMs, debit and credit cards can be used as normal however, while banks are
closed, we advise taking sufficient euros to cover the duration of your stay,
alongside appropriate security precautions against theft.”



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A spokesman said this meant that people should be “vigilant about where your
valuables are and being aware of where you are.”

There were signs on Friday night that Cyprus’s political leaders and the
“Troika” of eurozone representatives were moving towards a resolution to the
crisis.

One scenario would have left the country saving the core of the banking
industry and the Euro itself but too late to prevent fall-out for the wider
economy.

Russian investors will lose heavily in the plan, which sees a 10 per cent tax
on all deposits over 100,000 euros (£85,000) and those who have invested more
than that in Cyprus’s most troubled bank, the Laiki or Popular Bank, losing up
to 40 per cent.

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Cyprus

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In Cyprus





Cyprus lawmakers 'have made a start'






Cyprus bailout: Q&A





Cyprus bailout protests





Cash warning for Cyprus travellers







Expats: Cyprus bank raid is 'legalised
theft'



}

[Panda]

Latest News:' Hundreds of Bank Workers are marching in protest because they think they will lose their jobs.

The Cyprus Government says it is making progress and any accounts over over E100,000 Euros will incur a 25% tax. This is madness, everyone with an account over that sum will make immediate moves to find some other Country to transfer his account. and the Bank will go bankrupt.

[Badboy]

Latest News:' Hundreds of Bank Workers are marching in protest because they think they will lose their jobs.

The Cyprus Government says it is making progress and any accounts over over E100,000 Euros will incur a 25% tax. This is madness, everyone with an account over that sum will make immediate moves to find some other Country to transfer his account. and the Bank will go bankrupt.

NOT IF THEY RESTRICT WHAT YOU CAN TAKE OUT OF THE COUNTRY CURRENCY-WISE

[Lioned]

Latest News:' Hundreds of Bank Workers are marching in protest because they think they will lose their jobs.

The Cyprus Government says it is making progress and any accounts over over E100,000 Euros will incur a 25% tax. This is madness, everyone with an account over that sum will make immediate moves to find some other Country to transfer his account. and the Bank will go bankrupt.

NOT IF THEY RESTRICT WHAT YOU CAN TAKE OUT OF THE COUNTRY CURRENCY-WISE

And thats what they are going to do.

[Panda]

Latest News:' Hundreds of Bank Workers are marching in protest because they think they will lose their jobs.

The Cyprus Government says it is making progress and any accounts over over E100,000 Euros will incur a 25% tax. This is madness, everyone with an account over that sum will make immediate moves to find some other Country to transfer his account. and the Bank will go bankrupt.

NOT IF THEY RESTRICT WHAT YOU CAN TAKE OUT OF THE COUNTRY CURRENCY-WISE

And thats what they are going to do.

How can any Bank stop a Customer from closing his/her account. ? Admittedly a lot of the money would be held in fixed term deposits but a Country can't touch that money can they? The Government has until midnight tonight to produce their plan but the population of Cyprus is very much against an EU bail-out.

[Panda]

The New Europe


129
commentsCyprus endgame: What happens if its banks collapse?

By Mark Thompson @CNNMoneyMarch 23, 2013: 7:17 AM ET

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A banking collapse would likely lead to Cyprus' exit from the eurozone. The ramifications of that are unknown.

LONDON (CNNMoney)The clock is ticking on Cyprus.

The European Union wants the beleaguered country to find nearly €6 billion to add to a €10 billion bailout program backed by the International Monetary Fund to save the country's insolvent banks.

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And Cyprus is scrambling to put together a plan that will satisfy its would-be rescuers, while not further inflaming depositors.
Amid great uncertainty, one thing is clear -- the collapse of the tiny island nation's banks would lead the 17-member eurozone into uncharted waters.
Without agreement on a European rescue, emergency funding from the European Central Bank that has been keeping Cypriot banks afloat is due to end on Tuesday.
But will the ECB carry out its threat to yank the funding, knowing it would start a chain reaction that would almost certainly end in Cyprus abandoning the euro after just five years?
Some experts believe it will.
"Extending the emergency liquidity assistance without a clear deal could lead to a significant transfer of risk toward the ECB, and questions over its credibility," noted the Open Europe think tank.
"This would be a particularly poisonous debate in Germany, something which neither the ECB nor the German government would want."
Related: Cyprus sitting on natural gas gold mine
Banks in Cyprus have been closed to prevent a run on deposits after initial plans for a tax on all accounts -- since abandoned -- were revealed last weekend. ATMs have continued to function but long queues have formed at some banks.
In the absence of a rescue, Cypriots and foreign depositors will rush to withdraw cash as soon as they can. The government could extend the bank holiday again, and impose limits on financial transactions, but that would only delay the inevitable.
"The longer the restrictions on withdrawing and transferring assets continue, the more it increases the chances of drastic capital flight once they are lifted," wrote IHS Global Insight analyst Sean Harrison in a report.
Restricting the movement of capital wouldn't solve the country's banking crisis but only further depress activity in a recession-hit economy dependent on financial services and tourism, exacerbating the government's debt crisis.
Cyprus could close its two weakest banks -- it is already working on a plan to restructure one of them, Popular Bank of Cyprus -- but depositors would face big losses, further undermining confidence in the system as a whole.
Unable to restore trust in its banks and with an economy locked in a downward spiral, social and political unrest would escalate quickly. At that point, Cyprus may decide it has no option but to abandon the euro and start printing its own currency.
A new Cyprus pound would be worth much less than the euro, imposing even more pain on depositors than the original bank levy rejected by parliament on Tuesday.



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{id : "video/news/2013/03/22/n-cyprus-banks-moms.cnnmoney"}

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collapsed:false
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What would a Cyprexit mean for the eurozone?
"If a collapse were to occur, we maintain our view that Cyprus is so different from any other eurozone country and banking system that contagion is far from obvious," said Unicredit chief economist Erik Nielsen.
While European stock markets and the euro took a hit this week, government bonds in Italy and Spain held steady. And U.S. stock markets ended the week down a little less than 0.5%.
Still, it's possible the ECB could feel pressure to take emergency steps to prop up markets by, for example, purchasing government bonds.
Spain has secured an EU-backed bailout of its banking industry, and policymakers and investors appear at this point to be relaxed about the absence of a government in Rome, pointing to measures already taken to control its borrowing.
Some analysts believe it's more likely that another small eurozone country -- Slovenia -- could move center stage if Cyprus collapses.
Slovenia has an economy twice the size of Cyprus, but it has already been forced to bail out its banking sector, which is plagued by a high and rising rate of bad loans, and a new government may struggle to fund the recapitalization.
The International Monetary Fund says Slovenia may need to provide an extra €1 billion in capital for its three largest banks, at a time when the country's debt burden is rising due to a recession caused by poor export demand and austerity measures.



First Published: March 23, 2013: 7:17 AM ET

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Cyprus Aims to Meet Bailout Terms Today, Deposit Tax Debated


By Tom Stoukas
& Georgios Georgiou - Mar 23, 2013 5:02

Q

Cyprus aims to complete a plan today to meet the terms of a European bailout
that may include tapping bank deposits, its finance minister said, as the
Mediterranean island races to avert financial collapse.

After parliament approved capital controls and legislation to wind down banks
yesterday, Cypriot officials are working on additional measures that could
include a levy on bank deposits above 100,000 euros ($130,000). Finance Minister
Michael Sarris, who is meeting with representatives of the so-called troika of
the European Central Bank, European Commission and International Monetary Fund
in Nicosia today, said during a break in the talks that a deposit levy is being
discussed.





Enlarge image

Cyprus Aims to Meet Bailout Terms





Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

Demonstrators from the bank union protest outside the
Cypriot finance ministry in Nicosia, Cyprus, on Saturday, March 23,
2013.

Demonstrators from the bank union protest outside the Cypriot
finance ministry in Nicosia, Cyprus, on Saturday, March 23, 2013. Photographer:
Simon Dawson/Bloomberg




5:13
March 22 (Bloomberg) -- Sharon Bowles, chairwoman of the
European Parliament’s economic and monetary affairs committee, talks about the
handling of Cyprus bailout proposals. She speaks from Hertfordshire with Guy
Johnson and Francine Lacqua on Bloomberg Television's "The Pulse." (Source:
Bloomberg)



Enlarge image

Cyprus Aims to Meet Bailout Terms





Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

"We cannot fund banks that are bankrupt," ECB council
member Erkki Liikanen told Finland's YLE TV1 today.

"We cannot fund banks that are bankrupt," ECB council member
Erkki Liikanen told Finland's YLE TV1 today. Photographer: Simon
Dawson/Bloomberg



Enlarge image

Cyprus Approves Capital Controls in
Rush to Secure Bailout




Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

Lawmakers raise their hands to vote on the nation's
banking crisis inside the Cypriot parliament in Nicosia, Cyprus, on Friday,
March 22, 2013.

Lawmakers raise their hands to vote on the nation's banking
crisis inside the Cypriot parliament in Nicosia, Cyprus, on Friday, March 22,
2013. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg



Enlarge image

Averof Neofytou, Deputy President of
Disy Party




Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

Averof Neofytou, deputy president of Cyprus's ruling Disy
party, speaks to the media as he arrives at the Cypriot parliament in Nicosia,
Cyprus on Friday, March 22, 2013.

Averof Neofytou, deputy president of Cyprus's ruling Disy
party, speaks to the media as he arrives at the Cypriot parliament in Nicosia,
Cyprus on Friday, March 22, 2013. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg


Cyprus is scrambling to come up with 5.8 billion euros, a prerequisite for a
further 10 billion euros in bailout funds it needs to prevent financial ruin and
stay in the euro. Lawmakers’ rejection of an initial proposal to tax all bank
deposits last week prompted the ECB to threaten to cut off emergency funding to
Cypriot banks unless a deal is reached by March 25. Banks have been shut all
week and are due to reopen on March 26.

“We cannot fund banks that are bankrupt,” ECB council member Erkki Liikanen
told Finland’s YLE TV1 today. “There is now a chance of drawing up a program in
which the banks are recapitalized or reorganized to reach solvency. The ball is
in Cyprus’s court.”

Progress Made


Sarris said officials made progress in their first meeting today, though some
issues require further work. He said he expects a bill to be ready for
parliament to discuss later today.

President Nicos Anastasiades will meet with political party leaders at 8 p.m.
local time tonight to brief them on the troika talks, his office said in an
e-mailed statement.

Lawmakers yesterday agreed to
wind down Cyprus Popular
(CPB) Bank and impose losses on its depositors. The government only wants to
tap deposits at one other bank -- the biggest lender, the Bank of Cyprus -- said
Averof Neofytou, deputy president of the ruling Disy party. State-run
broadcaster CyBC reported earlier today that a levy of 25 percent on deposits
over 100,000 euros is being discussed.

Should the troika reject that plan, a levy would be applied at all banks, a
lawmaker said on condition of anonymity because the talks are still underway.


Eurogroup Meeting


European finance ministers will convene to discuss the latest Cypriot
proposals at 6 p.m. Brussels time tomorrow, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who chairs the
so-called Eurogroup, said in a posting on Twitter today.

Cyprus was thrust onto the international stage last week after European
finance ministers provoked outrage in the country and abroad by proposing levies
on all bank deposits. While the Cypriot parliament rejected that plan, European
leaders stuck to their demand that Cyprus contribute 5.8 billion euros to a
bailout package.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index
(SXXP) fell for the first week in a month on the back of the Cypriot turmoil
and the euro posted its biggest two-day drop since July at the start of the
week. Still, the Stoxx 600 was little changed yesterday as investors anticipated
a compromise and Europe’s single currency rose 0.7 percent.

“I don’t see any major contagion issues,” Finish Prime Minister Jyrki
Katainen told reporters in Saariselkae, Finnish Lapland, today. “I’m very
confident that we can see solutions tomorrow or Monday.”

Bills Passed


The Cypriot parliament passed nine bills late yesterday aimed at preventing
capital flight and restructuring the banking sector. Even so, President
Anastasiades may find himself short of the money required to satisfy EU leaders.


Winding down Cyprus Popular Bank, the nation’s second- biggest lender, would
only bring the bill down to 3.5 billion euros, Neofytou said yesterday. Cyprus
Popular depositors with more than 100,000 euros will face losses, he said.

“They will wait for many years before they see what percentage they will get
back from their savings -- 30 percent, 40 percent, 50 percent, 60 percent,”
Neofytou said during the debate in parliament. “At the same time this political
decision to support this harsh law completely safeguards another 361,000 savers
of a total of 371,000.”

Bad Bank


One plan pushed by European finance officials could see Cyprus Popular and
the Bank of Cyprus split to create a so- called bad bank. Insured deposits --
below the European Union ceiling of 100,000 euros -- would go into a so-called
good bank and not sustain any losses, while uninsured deposits would go into the
bad bank and be frozen until assets could be sold, four euro-region officials
said.

Cyprus in June became the fifth
euro-area nation to request a rescue. The move came after Greece’s debt
restructuring, the largest in history, trashed the financial health of lenders
including Bank of Cyprus and Cyprus Popular.

Cyprus Popular, founded in 1901 as a small savings bank, operates in Cyprus,
Greece, the U.K., Ukraine, Russia, Romania, Serbia, Malta and China through 439
branches, serving 1.35 million customers, according to information on its
website.

The bank, which employs about 8,500 people, posted a net loss of 1.56 billion
euros for the first nine months of 2012, after a net loss of 3.65 billion euros
in 2011 following writedowns on Greek government bond holdings, goodwill related
to its Greek business and provisions for loan losses.

Merkel Anger


Cyprus’s total bank assets swelled to 126.4 billion euros at the end of
January, seven times the size of the 18 billion- euro economy, from 78 billion
euros in 2007, data from the European Central Bank and the EU’s statistics
office show. Russian companies and individuals have an estimated $31 billion of
wealth in Cyprus, according to Moody’s.

At 17 billion euros, Cyprus’s financial needs are almost equivalent to the
country’s entire economic output, a magnitude of bailout that has never been
awarded before, Merkel told reporters on March 20. That means “the bank sector
must contribute to the sustainability of Cypriot debt,” she said.

Sarris, who met the same day in Moscow with Russian First Deputy Minister
Igor Shuvalov and Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, said yesterday that Russia
wouldn’t offer additional support beyond restructuring a 2.5 billion-euro loan
granted in 2011.

Merkel told a closed-door meeting of legislators in Berlin yesterday that
Cyprus must now act quickly, a party official said.

Cyprus is living “in an illusion,” Michael Meister, deputy parliamentary
leader of Merkel’s CDU, told BBC Radio 4’s “Today” program. “They have to
restructure the whole economy, restructure the banking sector and until now I
don’t see the Cyprus people and politicians agreeing on this.”

To contact the reporters on this
story: Tom Stoukas in Nicosia at astoukas@bloomberg.net;

Georgios Georgiou in Nicosia at
ggeorgio5@bloomberg.net

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http://news.sky.com/story/1069157/cyprus-bailout-president-arrives-for-talks

Click on the videos, doesn't look too promising .....Bank Staff in Cyprus have been marching in protest, fearing for their jobs and the Banks will be closed until Tuesday , cash will be available from ATM's but a limited amount.

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Bruno Waterfield@BrunoBrusselsBrussels correspondent, Daily Telegraph. Opinions, my own. Get in touch at bruno.waterfield@telegraph.co.uk
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/bruno-waterfield/

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Whether Cypriot prez resigns to hold a referendum or not as some reports suggest, the #ECB pulls the plug on Tuesday anyway
about 2 hours ago




Bruno Waterfield@BrunoBrussels





'#Cyprus's choices are between a bad scenario and a very bad scenario' say #EU official via @ekathimeriniekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_artic…
about 5 hours ago

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