Finance Minister Michael Sarris said "significant progress" had been made in talks in Nicosia with officials from the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund.
He confirmed discussions were centered on a possible levy of around 25 percent on holdings of over 100,000 euros (about $130,000) at Bank of Cyprus, and expressed hope that a package could be ready by the end of the day for approval by parliament.
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/...
Nicosia is a divided Cyprus city since the 1974 invasion by Turkey which still holds one-third of Cyprus in its control. History below.
From WaPo:
Cyprus has been told it must raise 5.8 billion euros ($7.5 billion) in order to secure 10 billion euros in rescue loans from other European countries that use the single currency, and from the International Monetary Fund.
A 2:1 deal? Cyprus will get approximately 2 euros for every 1 euro it expropriates. Does that mean that Cyprus banks will end up with a net 5 billion euros? If so, will that really be enough, especially if the big players pull out? I don't get this high finance at all.
Oh My Gosh! In what universe can this be deemed legal?
The riots are starting to happen. I think we would riot at a hint that 25% of our savings were going to be heisted to serve the deficit.
Cyprus. Another place where the Kissinger/US have created chaos. This is a great snapshot history of what happened.
Cyprus deposit details
These are all short term fixes for Cyprus’s overfed, undercapitalized banks.
Cypriot leaders fear the damage the levy would do to the country’s offshore banking industry. The tottering banks hold 68 billion euros in deposits, including 38 billion in accounts of more than 100,000 euros – enormous sums for an island of 1.1 million people which could never sustain such a big financial system on its own.
With the Island’s GDP at $24 billion, there are almost 3 times as much in bank deposits as the entire economy is worth. They are going to have to address that fundamental problem if they expect to put their financial house in order.
Calling it a tax is such a sham. The savings were created and taxed before tucked into the bank account. Tax is paid on the interest.
Taking the principal is highway robbery.
Greece and Cyprus have something else in common. The Orthodox Church which doesn't recognize Roman Catholicism, but I'm sure that has nothing to do with this present economic terror they are experiencing.