We have to implement Troika plans, says Cyprus finmin

Finance Minister Haris Georgiades has said that the government is committed to make all necessary decisions aiming at the recovery of the island`s economy.

“We have to dare and implement the (Troika rescue) programme. We have to make decisions bearing in mind that the results will not come as fast as we would like them to come”, the Minister said.

He said that the government is working to restart the economy and pointed out that this effort requires self-discipline and political consistency.

In addition, he said that there are signs that the Cyprus economy can overcome problems.

“We must open the doors of our economy to foreign investors, we must facilitate new business activities, local or foreign, and the state must remove bureaucratic obstacles, allowing productive aspects of the economy to develop”, he concluded.

Excluded from international capital markets since April 2011, Cyprus applied for financial assistance from the EU bailout mechanism, as its two largest banks, Bank of Cyprus (BoCY) and Cyprus Popular Bank (also called Laiki Bank) requested state support following mass losses as a result of the Greek sovereign debt haircut.

The aid package from the Troika featured a sizeable reduction of the island’s banking sector, as well as bail-in of uninsured deposits. Under the package agreed in March, Cyprus closed one bank, Popular Laiki, whereas deposits over 100,000 euros held at the island’s biggest lender, Bank of Cyprus, lost 47.5% of their value, after being converted into bank shares as part of the “bail-in” programme.