Eurogroup to approve €600m Cyprus tranche on Thursday

A high-ranking Eurozone official said that Eurogroup will approve the next tranche of €600 mln for Cyprus, which will be disbursed in July, during its meeting on Thursday in Luxembourg.
The official noted that Cyprus’ rescue programme fourth assessment was pretty “clear”, the programme is on track and the implementation is “very, very good.” He noted, however, that there are still challenges, namely the high level of non-performing loans (NPLs) at commercial banks.
The Eurogroup, he added, is expected to approve the next tranche of €600 mln at the beginning of July and another €100 mln will be paid out by the IMF, which will follow its own procedures.
He also said that all capital restrictions have been lifted in Cyprus, despite press reviews that this would have taken some time.
Cyprus received a €10 bln bailout from lenders in March 2013 and is following a three-year economic adjustment programme.