Cyprus banks lose billions in deposits in 2 months

(Tinjauan 1WC’s Channel) Photo: AP Wanita melayari tingkap sebuah kedai pakaian di bandar lama 

pusat dibahagikan ibu kota Nicosia, Cyprus, Rabu 29 Mei, 2013. Pihak berkuasa Cyprus telah mengangkat sekatan ke atas pengeluaran wang dan pemindahan untuk pelanggan antarabangsa 2 lagi bank-bank asing yang aktif di negara yang dilanda krisis. (REVIEW 1WC’sChannel) Photo: AP Women browse the window of a clothes shop in the old city of central divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, May 29, 2013. Cypriot authorities have lifted restrictions on money withdrawals and transfers for international clients of another two foreign banks active in the crisis-hit country).

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) - Deposit dalam bank-bank beleaguered Cyprus 'menyusut sebanyak lebih daripada 10 bilion euro (US$ 13 billion) sejak negara ini bersetuju dengan pemiutang menyelamat antarabangsa pada Mac masuk memeriksa simpanan dalam 2 pemberi pinjaman terbesar, angka-angka baru menunjukkan Jumaat.

Deposit menurun sebanyak 6.34 bilion euro (US $ 8.25 billion) pada bulan April, lebih daripada 3.75 billion euros (US$ 4. 88 billion) hilang bulan sebelumnya, kata bank pusat. Kerugian pada April ini, bagaimanapun, termasuk 2.8 billion euros deposit dalam pemberi pinjaman terbesar Cyprus, Bank of Cyprus, yang terpaksa ditukar kepada saham bank sebagai sebahagian daripada perjanjian bailout negara.

Kerugian membawa jumlah deposit kepada 57.4 bilion euro (US $ 74. 65 billion) pada akhir bulan April, penurunan curam daripada 72 bilion euro (US $ 93. 64 billion) yang disusun dalam akaun bank Cyprus - lebih daripada pelanggan-pelanggan asing Rusia dan lain - di puncak mereka pada Mei 2012.

Jurucakap Bank Cyprus Aliki Stylianou menafikan aliran keluar adalah satu perkara yang membimbangkan, dengan alasan mereka adalah sebahagian daripada urusniaga biasa, terutamanya oleh bank-bank asing yang aktif di Cyprus.

Keyakinan dalam bank-bank Cyprus 'mabuk apabila pihak berkuasa Cyprus bersetuju dengan rakan-rakan euro dan Tabung Kewangan Antarabangsa untuk memaksa pendeposit dengan lebih 100,000 euro dalam dua bank terkemuka di negara ini untuk mengambil kerugian besar. Cyprus telah diminta untuk berbuat demikian untuk membantu meningkatkan 13 billion euros (US$ 17 billion), satu keadaan untuk menerima 10 billion euro ($13 billion) pinjaman.

Untuk mengelakkan bank besar-besaran lari, pihak berkuasa Cyprus meletakkan sekatan ke atas pengeluaran wang dan pemindahan, seperti 300 euro ($ 385) topi pengeluaran harian, yang telah beransur-ansur telah dilonggarkan. Tetapi manakala kawalan dielakkan jangka, angka Jumaat mencadangkan bahawa pendeposit menggunakan cara yang ada untuk terus menarik wang keluar.

Had Cyprus 'pada aliran wang adalah yang pertama yang akan dikenakan ke atas bank-bank dalam sejarah mata wang euro 14 tahun. Pegawai Cyprus mengatakan mereka akan tarik balik sepenuhnya apabila amanah di bank dipulihkan.

Ekonomi Cyprus 'merudum selepas 2 bank terbesar - Bank of Cyprus dan Laiki - kehilangan berbilion-bilion pada hutang lapuk Yunani dan pinjaman. Tidak dapat meminjam daripada pasaran antarabangsa sejak pertengahan 2011, Cyprus berada di ambang kebankrapan apabila rakan-rakan di kawasan euro yang dipersetujui ke atas pinjaman.

Selain menyerang deposit bank, kerajaan juga akan meningkatkan wang dengan menjual syarikat-syarikat milik kerajaan dan membuat potongan perbelanjaan yang mendalam. Menteri Kewangan Cyprus 'Harris Georgiades memberitahu Agensi negeri Cyprus yang dikendalikan Jumaat bahawa ekonomi boleh menguncup dengan lebih daripada unjuran 8.7% peratus tahun ini dan yang lebih mendalam potongan gaji kerajaan yang perlu.

Pinjaman pada April menurun sebanyak 1. 46 billion euros, kurang daripada 1.97 billion euro penurunan euro pada bulan Mac, menurut Bank Negara Cyprus. Jumlah pinjaman pada akhir bulan April berjumlah 68.4 billion euros.

Kementerian Kewangan Cyprus berkata dalam satu kenyataan hari ini bahawa kerajaan telah menyimpan 75 million euros (US $ 97.5 million) di bank-bank perdagangan dan kerjasama negara dalam tanda simbolik keyakinan dalam sistem perbankan. Kementerian berkata, wang itu datang dari akaun kerajaan dan yang lebih deposit itu akan dibuat.

Juga pada hari Jumaat, pihak berkuasa Cyprus menarik balik sekatan ke atas pengeluaran wang dan pemindahan untuk pelanggan antarabangsa Beirut berasaskan BankMed. Perintah Kementerian Kewangan meningkatkan bilangan bank-bank asing dikecualikan ke 15, walaupun had masih terpakai kepada pelanggan yang tinggal di Cyprus.

Cyprus banks lose billions in deposits in 2 months

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) - Deposits in Cyprus' beleaguered banks shrank by more than 10 billion euros ($13 billion) since the country agreed with international rescue creditors in March to raid savings in its two biggest lenders, new figures showed Friday.

Deposits dropped by 6.34 billion euros ($8.25 billion) in April, much more than the 3.75 billion euros ($4.88 billion) lost the previous month, the central bank said. April's losses, however, include 2.8 billion euros of deposits in Cyprus' largest lender, Bank of Cyprus, which had to be converted into bank shares as part of the country's bailout deal.

The losses brought total deposits to 57.4 billion euros ($74.65 billion) at the end of April, a steep drop from the 72 billion euros ($93.64 billion) stacked in Cypriot bank accounts - much from Russian and other foreign clients - at their peak in May, 2012.

Cyprus Central Bank spokeswoman Aliki Stylianou denied the outflows were a matter of concern, arguing they are part of normal transactions, mainly by foreign banks active in Cyprus.

Confidence in Cyprus' banks tanked when Cypriot authorities agreed with their euro partners and the International Monetary Fund to force depositors with over 100,000 euros in the country's top two banks to take major losses. Cyprus was asked to do so to help raise 13 billion euros ($17 billion), a condition for receiving a 10 billion euro ($13 billion) loan.

In order to prevent a full-blown bank run, Cypriot authorities put restrictions on money withdrawals and transfers, such as a 300 euro ($385) daily withdrawal cap, which have gradually been relaxed. But while the controls have avoided a run, Friday's figures suggest that depositors used the means available to keep pulling money out.

Cyprus' limits on money flows are the first to be imposed on banks in the euro currency's 14-year history. Cypriot officials say they'll be fully lifted once trust in the banks is restored. Cyprus' economy nosedived after its two biggest banks - Bank of Cyprus and Laiki - lost billions on bad Greek debt and loans. Unable to borrow from international markets since mid-2011, Cyprus was on the verge of bankruptcy when its euro area partners agreed on the loan.

Besides raiding the bank deposits, the government will also raise money by selling state-owned companies and making deep spending cuts. Cyprus' Finance Minister Harris Georgiades told state-run Cyprus Agency Friday that the economy could contract by more than the projected 8.7 percent this year and that deeper government salary cuts may be necessary.

Loans in April decreased by 1.46 billion euros, less than the 1.97 billion euro drop in March, according to the Cyprus Central Bank. Total loans at the end of April stood at 68.4 billion euros.

The Cyprus Finance Ministry said in a statement Friday that the government has deposited 75 million euros ($97.5 million) in the country's commercial and cooperative banks in a symbolic gesture of confidence in the banking system. The Ministry said the money comes from the government's accounts and that more such deposits will be made.

Also on Friday, Cypriot authorities lifted restrictions on money withdrawals and transfers for international clients of Beirut-based BankMed. A Finance Ministry decree raised the number of exempted foreign banks to 15, although limits still apply to clients residing in Cyprus.