Chaos In Cyprus: Biggest Bank Run In History Starts Monday

People with Cyprus bank accounts will lose up to 10% of their savings as the price of a 10 billion euro (£8.6 billion) rescue package for the cash-strapped country from its European partners and the International Monetary Fund.

The bailout was agreed early on Saturday in a bid to keep the island nation from a bankruptcy that could rekindle the region’s debt crisis.

But in a major departure from established policies, the package also includes a one-off levy on the money held in bank accounts in Cyprus. Analysts have warned that making depositors take a hit threatens to undermine investors’ confidence in other weaker eurozone economies and might possibly lead to bank runs.

In return for the rescue loans Cyprus will trim its deficit, shrink its troubled banking sector, raise taxes and privatise state assets, said the Netherlands’ Jeroen Dijsselbloem, presiding over meetings of the 17-nation eurozone’s finance ministers. “The assistance is warranted to safeguard financial stability in Cyprus and the eurozone as a whole,” he said, speaking after nearly 10 hours of negotiations.

People with less than 100,000 euro (£86,000) in their Cypriot bank accounts will have to pay a one-time tax of 6.75%, those with more will lose 9.9%. The measure is expected to net 5.8 billion euro (£5bn) in additional revenues, Mr Dijsselbloem said, greatly reducing the country’s financing need.

[link to www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk] 

AND NOW, THOUSANDS ARE WITHDRAWING THEIR CASH, CHAOS IS SPREADING IN CYPRUS, AND THE ALARMS HAVE BEEN RAISED IN ITALY&SPAIN&GREECE&PORTUGAL AND IRELAND.

[link to translate.google.es] 

[link to www.welt.de] 

[link to forum.spiegel.de] 

[link to www.sueddeutsche.de] 

[link to www.spiegel.de] 

[link to www.faz.net] 

[link to www.stern.de] 

[link to www.format.at] 

[link to www.ln-online.de] 

[link to www.thetimes.co.uk] 

(use google translator on this!)
[link to www.investor-verlag.de] 

Onn monday the biggest bank run in history begins.  Thoughts?   -Mort