Troika is back for new consultations on Cyprus bailout

European and IMF inspectors launched new consultations in Cyprus on Monday to pin down the island's financial needs after it applied for a bailout last month.
Cyprus sought a funding lifeline from its European Union partners on June 25 to buffer its banking sector from severe losses over its exposure to Greece, becoming the fifth euro zone country to seek outside financial help.
Technocrats from the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the IMF, collectively known as the "Troika", met on Monday with the Cypriot central bank. They were scheduled at the finance ministry on Tuesday.
The Troika visited Cyprus to gather data in early July.
The new round of meetings were expected to be completed by July 27, with the main focus on the banking sector, the finance ministry said.
"The meetings aim at developing common views with regard to the main challenges currently facing the Cyprus economy as well as the appropriate strategy and policy responses," the ministry said in a statement.
Cyprus was left out of pocket after underwriting a 1.8 billion euro capital shortfall for the island's second largest bank, Cyprus Popular.
Regulatory capital, an indicator of financial strength, was severely depleted for both Popular and the largest lender, Bank of Cyprus, when they were forced to take a writedown agreed by European leaders to make Greece's sovereign debt mountain more sustainable.
The decision dealt a critical blow to the Cypriot economy.
Combined, Popular and Bank of Cyprus require 2.3 billion euros in fresh regulatory capital and have looked to the government for assistance.
While concentrating on the banking sector, the technocrats are pursuing a bailout for the economy as a whole, It is unclear how much funding Cyprus may need, but markets are speculating on up to 10 billion euros.
Rating agency Standard and Poor's last week said the bailout bill could reach up to 15 billion, taking into account existing and future banking needs, and future fiscal requirements.