Waiting for poverty to strike is no game. It makes ordinary men and women helpless, desperate and scared. "If you look at it mathematically, there is no way out: we will just never be able to repay our bills to the EU and IMF," said Haris Christou, one young Cypriot speaking for his compatriots. "Am I afraid? Of course I am afraid. Everybody knows everything in Cyprus is going to get bad, really bad. And nobody knows where exactly we are headed."
On Wednesday night men and women, some young, some old, gave voice to that fear. They gathered outside the offices of the European commission, and then lined the road that leads up to Cyprus's colonial-era presidential palace, to protest against a rescue programme that, wittingly or not, will destroy their country's banking sector and bring its economy to its knees.
"Out with the troika", "Fuck the troika", "Go home Troika", said the placards. "No to the policies of austerity." "No to privatisations." "No to the memorandum of catastrophe."
But more than words, or any amount of hoarse chanting, it is uncertainty that now speaks loudest in Cyprus. The uncertainty that has come with the knowledge that the island's economic output will shrink dramatically as a result of the austerity now being demanded in return for €10bn in aid. The uncertainty unleashed by policies that will see many Cypriots wake up with much less than they once had in the bank. And the insecurity of suddenly being the subject of capital controls that possibly could change Cypriots' lives for years....I, too, would be inclined to withdraw all my funds from any Cyprus bank and I suspect there will be a run on them. There are 'policies in place' to restrict such a run but I don't see how they can prevent people taking out what is their own money. That is the worry. The Russians called it theft and so would any Cypriot who cannot access savings. The safest place to deposit money is still the UK and I'm surprised that London has not offered to make itself a safe haven for Italians, Portuguese and the Spanish to place their life savings. That's what I'd do if I were a Mediterranean saver. The GBP and USD have their moments but nobody will lose a penny by keeping their money in those currencies which are trusted around the world. I don't know how any Cypriot would be able to do a SWIFT transaction to get cash out of harm's way but surely it can be done.
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Big depositors in Bank of Cyprus to be hit much worse than feared
Savers in Cyprus' largest bank face losing a far worse-than-expected 60pc of their deposits over €100,000 as part of a €10bn EU bail-out deal struck this week.
Before it joined the Euro just 9 years ago, Cyprus had a 4% growth rate and a budget surplus and now look at it, debt slavery an economy and people devastated, all thanks to the banksters greed and the EU technocrats, who now think nothing of taking peoples savings all in the name of the greater project EU.
So depositors are actually going to lose 100%. 37.5% to be converted into worthless bank shares, 22.5% to be written off and 40% to be repaid only 'if the bank does well' - which since people only want to get their money out asap is impossible. This is not just harsh, it is plain theft setting an appalling precedent for the rest of the EU whose banks are equally bust if the truth be told. The message could not be clearer.
the overseas branches of Laiki and Bank of Cyprus remained open for foreigners and rich Cypriots overseas to withdraw their money whilst the banks in Cyprus were closed so that the poor buggers in Cyprus couldn't withdraw anything.
If a week ago, losses of 30% were expected to raise the required €5.8bn, and now this all of a sudden increases to 60%, then according to Adam Ries €10bn have just disappeared from those supposedly 'frozen' accounts.
Most of the people losing their livelihoods in Cyprus are small and medium businesses together with those who are retired there.
It is a deliberate destruction of an entire nation and a generation or two of youth.
Cypriots didn't riot or cause damage. That's because they're still in shock. Let's hope they eventually get their thoughts together and take out a class action lawsuit against the evil monstrosities that reside in Brussels, the IMF and the ECB.
I didn't think my estimation of Cameron and co. could fall any lower. But their implicit sanctioning of theft leaves me wondering if they would object if the Troika took to kidnapping babies and eating them.
The Central Bank of Cyprus has eased some of the restrictions imposed as the nation's banks reopened, following an international bailout deal.
Debit and credit cards can be used normally for domestic payments.
The central bank said it would review the curbs on a daily basis and try to "refine or relax" them when possible.
A 5,000-euro (£4,223) monthly limit per person remains in place for card purchases abroad, to stop the flight of capital from the country.
The central bank said in a statement on Friday: "Each day, we will measure and look to refine or relax these controls with the overriding goal of safeguarding and stabilising the Cypriot financial system."
The move appears to be an attempt to make life as easy as possible for the domestic economy, while preventing the outflow of funds from the island, correspondents say.
Cyprus needs to raise 5.8bn euros ($7.4bn; £4.9bn) to qualify for the bailout, and has become the first eurozone member country to bring in capital controls to prevent a torrent of money leaving the island and credit institutions collapsing.
As well as a daily withdrawal limit of 300 euros, Cypriots may not cash cheques and those leaving the country will only be allowed to take 1,000 euros with them.
Depositors with more than 100,000 euros will see some of their savings exchanged for bank shares.
Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said on Thursday that such controls could gradually be lifted over the course of the month. But many economists predict the controls could be in place for much longer.
Earlier on Friday, President Nicos Anastasiade said Cyprus had "averted the risk of bankruptcy" following the 10bn-euro bailout deal with the EU and IMF.
"The situation, despite the tragedy of it all, is contained," he added.
The Bank of Cyprus, Laiki and Hellenic Bank apparently forgave loans of millions of euros to companies, local authorities, and politicians from some of the island's biggest parties.
The list has been handed to the ethics committee of the Cypriot parliament and an investigation is said to be under way.
Banks opened on Thursday for the first time in nearly two weeks amid severe new rules imposed as part of the bailout deal.
Queues formed of people trying to access their money, but the mood was generally calm.
By Friday, banks had returned to their normal working hours and there were no longer reports of big queues.
The debate over this week's "bail in" of bank account holders in Cyprus as part of the country's debt crisis bailout is continuing to simmer in Europe. In Luxembourg, Finance Minister Luc Frieden has warned that the example set in Cyprus by taxing people holding €100,000 ($129,000) or more in their accounts could drive investors out of Europe.
ANZEIGE
"This will lead to a situation in which investors invest their money outside the euro zone," he told SPIEGEL. "In this difficult situation, we need to avoid anything that will lead to instability and destroy the trust of savers."
Earlier this week, Euro Group President Jeroen Dijsselbloem sparked an enormous controversy after stating that the solution found in Cyprus could be applied throughout the euro zone in the future.
Cypriots Hope Tourism Will Be Economic Buoy
Foreign tourists stroll Cyprus's beaches, unscathed by the nation's troubles. But many Cypriots fret that the nation's crisis will not only imperil its ability to draw foreign business, but could also deal a blow to another pillar of the economy: foreign tourism.
ROME—Italy's political limbo was prolonged by at least another day, after the country's president took more time to figure out whether there was any way to form a new government and avoid calling new elections.
One possibility that could emerge overnight is that President Giorgio Napolitano names a new, nonpartisan figure to lead a cabinet around which a Parliamentary majority could coalesce.
Another possibility is a more radical one: Mr Napolitano—due to finish his term next month—could step down, paving the way for the election of a new president who would have more room to maneuver than Mr Napolitano.
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