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marmar

(76,982 posts)
Fri Mar 22, 2013, 09:04 AM Mar 2013

A Safe and a Shotgun or Publicly-owned Banks? The Battle of Cyprus


Web of Debt blog / By Ellen Brown

A Safe and a Shotgun or Publicly-owned Banks? The Battle of Cyprus
March 21, 2013 |


“If these worries become really serious, . . . small savers will take their money out of banks and resort to household safes and a shotgun." -- Martin Hutchinson on the attempted EU raid on private deposits in Cyprus banks.


The deposit confiscation scheme has long been in the making. US depositors could be next . . . .

On Tuesday, March 19, the national legislature of Cyprus overwhelmingly rejected a proposed levy on bank deposits as a condition for a European bailout. Reuters called it “a stunning setback for the 17-nation currency bloc,” but it was a stunning victory for democracy. As Reuters quoted one 65-year-old pensioner, “The voice of the people was heard.”

The EU had warned that it would withhold €10 billion in bailout loans, and the European Central Bank (ECB) had threatened to end emergency lending assistance for distressed Cypriot banks, unless depositors – including small savers – shared the cost of the rescue. In the deal rejected by the legislature, a one-time levy on depositors would be required in return for a bailout of the banking system. Deposits below €100,000 would be subject to a 6.75% levy or “haircut”, while those over €100,000 would have been subject to a 9.99% “fine.”

.........(snip)........

The Long-planned Confiscation Scheme

The deal pushed by the “troika” – the EU, ECB and IMF – has been characterized as a one-off event devised as an emergency measure in this one extreme case. But the confiscation plan has long been in the making, and it isn’t limited to Cyprus. .....................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/a_safe_and_a_shotgun_or_publicly-owned_banks_the_battle_of_cyprus_20130322/



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