Cyprus Banks

[Eric]

Cyprus have stuck two fingers up to Germany.  Not one MP voted in favour of the new tax.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2295670/Cyprus-rejects-bank-forced-people-hand-10-savings.html

[Ian]

Protestors cheered in the streets outside the Parliament when the result was announced, chanting: ‘Cyprus belongs to its people.’

And the German attitude is "and your debts belong to your people as well"

[Colwyn]

Odd that the Euro has gone up today: instead it is the pound that has fallen.


The Cyprus Finance Minister is currently in Moscow trying to renegotiate their debt repayment. Will it work? Well I'm sure the Russians would like another potential naval base in the Eastern Mediterranean in case they lose the one they have in Syria. Or at the least a friendly, indebted country in the region.

[GordonA]

Gazprom will turn out to be the only winner in this debacle, wait & see.   

[Colwyn]

The European Central Bank has cranked up the pressure on Cyprus:

The Governing Council of the European Central Bank decided to maintain the current level of Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) until Monday, 25 March 2013. Thereafter, Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) could only be considered if an EU/IMF programme is in place that would ensure the solvency of the concerned banks.

This means that the Cyprus Government has to come up with a €7bn contribution to the bailout by Monday, or face the plug being pulled on its banks.

[Colwyn]

I think it is a fair result for the people of Cyprus. Those with deposits under €100k have their money protected by the state backed by the EU; and those above that don't have their money guaranteed. We all knew didn't we? Up to £85 safe; over that you had better think about spreading the risk. If you didn't whose fault was that? What was unfair was that Greek, Portuguese, Italian, etc, banks and their big depositors got away free because German and French taxpayers where taking the cost. Even Russia isn't making too much of a fuss. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvede "In my view, the stealing of what has already been stolen continues". Sounds like he admits that Russian mafia money has been slushing round Cyprus - attracted by a tax haven with the highest interest rate in the EZ.


By the way, it seems to me that it was the Cyprus Government that wanted to protect the "rich" (over €100k) by taxing the "poor" (under £100k all the way down to under €10). It was the EZ csars who said "No!" to this We take the opposite approach in the UK - the poor have to pay to protect the rich. Which is fairer?