Banks in Cyprus have reopened after a two-week closure sparked by discussions on an EU-IMF bailout.

Branches were replenished with cash overnight and police were deployed amid fears of large queues.

They began to open at noon local time (10:00 GMT) and will close at 18:00 (16:00 GMT).

Capital controls, imposed to prevent worried savers and businesses rushing to withdraw all their money, include limiting cash withdrawals to EUR 300 euros (USD 383) per day per person and limiting payments abroad to EUR 5,000.

No checks can be cashed, although they can be paid in, and people leaving the country can only take up to EUR 1,000, or the equivalent in foreign currency, with them in cash.

Banks in Cyprus have been shut since March 16 to prevent people draining their accounts as politicians scrambled to come up with a plan to raise enough funds for the country to qualify for EUR 10 B (USD 12.9 B) in bailout loans for its stricken banking sector.

On Thursday, it was made clear that the Cypriot Stock Exchange (CSE) has extended its almost two-week shutdown. The bourse will remain shut during Easter, from March 29 to April 1, because the Target2 system of interbank payments throughout the European Union would not be working.

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