Cypriot bank savers forced to pay towards Euro/IMF bailout

[Citizen66]

I see. Expressing an opinion that runs contrary to the board's consensus sympathies and political leaning incurs a ban. How authoritarian. How left-wing.

Well a least you're given the opportunity to make an arse of yourself. You don't get past security on far right sites unless you've got a swastika tattood on your forehead and are wearing a pair of eighteen holers.

 

[Belushi]

Isn't this just likely to cause a run on the Cypriot banks? If the government grabbed 7% of my savings I'd have the rest of my money out as soon as the banks reopened before they could come back for another slice.

 

[redsquirrel]

the banks/government have stopped people from taking their money out.

 

[Mrs Magpie]

Isn't this just likely to cause a run on the Cypriot banks? If the government grabbed 7% of my savings I'd have the rest of my money out as soon as the banks reopened before they could come back for another slice.

Accounts have been frozen so no-one can access their savings to prevent a run on the bank.

 

[Belushi]

Accounts have been frozen so no-one can access their savings to prevent a run on the bank.

Yes, but only until Tuesday.

 

[Tankus]

This is not confined to Cyprus ........If the EU has given the green light for this in order to keep the Cypriot government and banks solvent ......What of the Spanish and Italian banks ,constantly being propped up with printed money......?

There is bound to be capital flight from the Piigs this week

If you were in a bank in difficulty... What would you do ?

There are no longer deposit guarantees across the EU .....by European Parliament consent .

 

[Lo Siento.]

Who exactly is supporting the tax?

check the first page, there's at least half a dozen people

 

[Santino]

check the first page, there's at least half a dozen people

I count two who MAY be supporting it. Why don't you name names and let them confirm or deny whether they support this particular action?

 

[Mr Smin]

This is the most jaw dropping thing I have seen in a very long time. In the UK we have personal bank deposits guaranteed by the government up to £80k. Reading around the internet this morning it seems Cypriots thought they had something similar. It's made me look into diversifying my (very modest) cash ISA into other things.

Very interesting comment piece on Economist.com
http://www.economist.com/blogs/schumpeter/2013/03/cyprus-bail-out

 

[Belushi]

Yes, I think depositors across Europe are feeling that their money is a little less safe this morning, and if I were Spanish or Greek or Italian I'd be tempted to take the morning off work tomorrow and queue up outside the bank..

 

[coley]

Yes, but only until Tuesday.

Tuesday should be an interesting day in Cyprus

 

[coley]

This is not confined to Cyprus ........If the EU has given the green light for this in order to keep the Cypriot government and banks solvent ......What of the Spanish and Italian banks ,constantly being propped up with printed money......?

There is bound to be capital flight from the Piigs this week

If you were in a bank in difficulty... What would you do ?

There are no longer deposit guarantees across the EU .....by European Parliament consent .

We still have deposit guarantees though, don't we? Saying that would they protect savers from a government smash n grab?

 

[Belushi]

I don't think they would. Deposit guarantees are in case the bank goes tits up - they wouldn't protect us from a government levy.

 

[youngian]

My ex brother in law setttled in Cyprus a real right wing bastard ,i do hope it will give him pain

Is he a bloody immigrant taking up jobs and houses and not learning the language?

 

[two sheds]

Clearly what should really happen is the people at the top who have created the current problems thus adding to their phenomenal wealth over the last couple of years should pay. Problem solved.

Is that what you're after Sas? Or would you prefer the present government's approach of taking the money off people who don't actually have any, rather than taking it off people who do?

 

[coley]

I don't think they would. Deposit guarantees are in case the bank goes tits up - they wouldn't protect us from a government levy.

Might be a good time to stuff the mattress then, given the warning the poor buggers in Cyprus got

 

[coley]

Clearly what should really happen is the people at the top who have created the current problems thus adding to their phenomenal wealth over the last couple of years should pay. Problem solved.

Is that what you're after Sas? Or would you prefer the present government's approach of taking the money off people who don't actually have any, rather than taking it off people who do?

If this levy had been directed at,say all those with savings of £250,000+ then their might have been a bit of rhyme and reason to it but you get hit if you are sitting there with £5 in the bank

 

[nino_savatte]

I see. Expressing an opinion that runs contrary to the board's consensus sympathies and political leaning incurs a ban. How authoritarian. How left-wing.

How many times have I seen this over the years?

 

[redsquirrel]

But it's not "the EU" who are "forcibly" removing the money, is it? It's the Cypriot government. Not the same thing. But why let that get in the way of a fondly-held bugbear?

It's been done under pressure from the EU and the IMF though hasn't it.

 

[youngian]

There's a lot of hyperbolic guff in this Euro bashing.

Bare in mind those that want to leave the Euro advocate immediate exchange controls and reissue of a devalued national currency. Even supporters estimated a reimposed Drachma would be the equivalent of a 50 per cent devaluation of people's saving.

 

[butchersapron]

Part of the (planned) confusion earlier in this thread was due to the eu-Cypriot stitch up calling this a tax rather than what it really is - a levy - in order to get around their own rules on deposit guarantees - essentially making clear what was always implicit in the whole model from the very star - they will do what they want when they want to who they want.

 

[Lo Siento.]

I count two who MAY be supporting it. Why don't you name names and let them confirm or deny whether they support this particular action?

Silas Loom, bioboy, Corax, two sheds, 19sixtysix, isvicthere? all express attitudes that could be described as "shoulder-shrugging" (which is what I said)

 

[butchersapron]

There's a lot of hyperbolic guff in this Euro bashing.

Bare in mind those that want to leave the Euro advocate immediate exchange controls and reissue of a devalued national currency. Even supporters estimated a reimposed Drachma would be the equivalent of a 50 per cent devaluation of people's saving.

Very confused post there Ian - mixing up euro-bashing (haven't mentioned who/where) with criticisms of how this has happened and why and who will be paying the immediate price, with calls to leave the EU and internal Cypriot domestic politics.

 

[DJ Squelch]

This has still got to be agreed by the Cypriot House Of Representatives, in the next day or two, so it might not happen but it sounds like if they vote against it then the banks would collapse before the end of the month and savers would lose all their money.

 

[butchersapron]

This has still got to be agreed by the Cypriot House Of Representatives, in the next day or two, so it might not happen but it sounds like if they vote against it then the banks would collapse before the end of the month and savers would lose all their money.

Or they can have a different deal without the levy. Simple. One where this component is directed at the mafia money flows for example off the top of my head.

 

[Tankus]

Too late now....precedent has been set......be big movements next week

 

[youngian]

Very confused post there Ian - mixing up euro-bashing (haven't mentioned who/where).

Yes you're right I do look confused as I've just noticed the thread now has a more constructive title. It was originally titled - Naked theft by the scum that is the EU hierachy

I'll save my posts for a more relevant debate.

 

[gosub]

This is not confined to Cyprus ........If the EU has given the green light for this in order to keep the Cypriot government and banks solvent ......What of the Spanish and Italian banks ,constantly being propped up with printed money......?

There is bound to be capital flight from the Piigs this week

If you were in a bank in difficulty... What would you do ?

There are no longer deposit guarantees across the EU .....by European Parliament consent .

Agreed , absolutely mental. So having imposed BASEL 2 & 3 making banks up their deposit lending / ratios, this decision (that Germany insisted was part of access to any EU bail out) has completely disincentivized keeping money in any EU bank account.

 

[SikhWarrioR]

What is to stop this idea spreading we have callmedave and oinkborne's budget soon and i wonder how many more europeans are gonna look at this and think is it is time we pulled our savings.....stay tuned folks this could get interesting or messy

 

[FNG]

The amount of harm the 6.25 tax on ordinary savers with less than 100 000 euro savings is disproportionate to the amount of revenue of the 13.5 billion bailout it will claw back,when you consider the population of Cyprus is only 1 million most of whom will have modest savings way below that.

The Cypriot press is saying that the most likely outcome will be to chase away the Russian offshore accounts who will choose other places such as Lichtenstein,Switzerland or the Caymen islands,leaving Cyprus with an unserviceable debt.

Reminds me of the phrase A sledgehammer to crush a nut