Cypriot authorities yesterday scrambled to renegotiate the terms of a €10bn bailout by moving to scrap its controversial levy on small account holders and instead seizing more from larger depositors and businesses.
The islands’ banks were ordered to stay closed for two more days to avoid a bank run, as the government delayed yet again a parliamentary vote on the deal struck with eurozone officials and the International Monetary Fund over the weekend.
A senior EU official said international lenders were pushing the Cypriot government to exempt all deposit holders below €100,000. Instead the IMF, the European Union and the European Central Bank wanted a levy of 15.6 per cent on all deposits above that level, many of which are held by Russians.