Troika delegation visits Cyprus for financial sector monitoring

A delegation of technocrats of the Troika of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund arrives in Cyprus today to monitor developments in the island`s financial sector.

Reliable sources have told CNA that the Troika contacts will begin tomorrow with meetings with Finance Ministry officials, the Central Bank and management of commercial banks. The Troika delegation will remain in Cyprus until the end of the week.

Furthermore, the same sources have said that the Troika heads are expected to visit the island in July, although the visit has not been scheduled yet.

Following a decisions by the Euro area Finance Ministers, collectively called as the Eurogroup, Cyprus will receive a €10 billion bailout by the ESM the IMF after bailing in bank uninsured deposits in a bid to recapitalize the island`s troubled banks, which posted massive losses worth of €4.5 billion due to the Greek sovereign debt haircut. Furthermore, the island`s second largest bank, Cyprus Popular bank, will be wound down and its good part (loans and deposits below €100,000) will be folded in Bank of Cyprus (BoC). So far 37.5% of uninsured deposits in BoC been converted to equity, whereas an additional 22.5% remains frozen until the conclusion of an independent evaluation of the Bank`s balance sheet after absorbing the good part of the Cyprus Popular Bank.