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A man sits in front of an automated teller machine outside the National Bank of Cyprus, which has been closed for two weeks, on Wednesday in Nicosia. Photo by Getty Images
Cyprus's central bank has announced that the country's banks will reopen on Thursday, at midday, and operate until 6pm local time.
That's 10am GMT to 4pm GMT.
But Cyprus‘s government is expected to severely restrict access to the country’s bank accounts, when banks reopen on Thursday for the first time in nearly two weeks.
The measures, which are supposed to be in effect for only a week but could be extended, will bar electronic transfers of funds from Cyprus to other countries. And individuals will not be allowed to take more than EUR 3,000 cash outside the country, well below the current restriction of EUR 10,000.
Credit and debit card charges will be capped at EUR 5,000 per person per month. And checks cannot be cashed, although they can be deposited.
The Cypriot finance minister, Michalis Sarris, said Wednesday that a flood of withdrawals was bound to happen quickly, anyway, but that the restrictions would at least help stem a mass flight of deposits.
“Each day that banks remain closed creates more uncertainty and more difficulties for people, so we would like to do our utmost to make sure that this new goal that we have set will work,” he said.
Despite those strictures, Cypriot authorities are bracing for as much as 10% of the EUR 64 B in deposits in the country’s banks to be pulled out on Thursday.
Experts predict a much bigger bank run whenever the controls are eventually lifted.
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