Troika begins fifth evaluation of Cyprus programme on Tuesday

Cyprus international lenders, the Troika (EC, ECB and IMF), begins on July15 its fifth evaluation of the country’s economic adjustment program.

Troika`s delegation arrives in Cyprus on Monday, July 14th, and on Tuesday begins its meetings with Cyprus officials.

According to CNA sources, the head of international lender`s will have a meeting with the Finance Minister Haris Georgiades

The big percentage of the non performing loans (NPL) is expected to be one of the hot issues to be discussed during Troika`s contacts. According to the latest data released by the Central Bank of Cyprus, the NPLs reaches 45% of the total loans or 27.1 billion Euro in a total of 60 billion Euro.

According to the initial programme, Troika`s meetings will last until 22nd of July and then the discussions between the head of the delegation and the Minister of Finance on the updated Memorandum will take place.

Cyprus has been in recession since Q2 2011. Faced with the collapse of its banking sector, Cyprus and the Troika agreed last March on a €10 billion bailout that featured an unprecedented haircut on deposits over €100,000, coupled with strict capital controls that hampered economic activity. So far Cyprus has had four positive programme reviews and restrictions on transactions have been gradually eased.