THE government will try to limit the losses of provident fund members to around 25 per cent of the amount they would have received before an EU decision to resolve one bank and raid deposits in the island’s biggest, the finance minister said yesterday.Workers’ provident funds have been affected by a Eurogroup decision to resolve Laiki, the island’s second-biggest, and recapitalise Bank of Cyprus by raiding customers’ deposits.The decision was part of a €10 billion bailout agreement with international lenders.In a letter to the House President, Finance Minister Harris Georgiades said that an amount will be given from the bailout to compensate provident funds with deposits in Laiki, which is being wound down... 8 comments

 CYPRUS IS slowly losing its pariah status among EU partners though the country still has a way to go before proving its reliability, said Finance Minister Harris Georgiades yesterday. Speaking from Brussels where he attended the Eurogroup meeting on Monday night, Georgiades said: “We’re doing well, the climate has changed”. The Eurogroup had welcomed the disbursement of the first €3 billion of the EU bailout for Cyprus, €2 billion of which has already arrived in state coffers, while another €1 billion will be despatched at the end of June. ... 12 comments

THE CABINET yesterday approved a Code of Conduct and Ethics for public workers, authorising the finance minister to take the necessary steps to ensure its implementation. Introduction of the new code is aimed at improving the service provided to citizens and the image of the public sector by describing in a clear and simple manner the responsibilities, obligations and expected behaviour of public servants throughout the public service and across all ranks.  Last week, President Nicos Anastasiades announced a series of measures aimed at restoring the public’s trust in government following the banking fiasco. He set June 15 as the final deadline for completing all outstanding bills that parliament will need to approve. ... 15 comments

CURRENCY controls are expected to be lifted within the next few weeks, definitely within the next six months, finance minister Haris Georgiades has said.Georgiades said he anticipated the controls, imposed after a chaotic bailout last month and which led to a lockdown of the banking system for 15 days would be eased in "days or weeks".Asked during a Reuters interview published yesterday whether measures would be eased in two, or six months, Georgiades said: "Definitely not six months. I am optimistic we shall be able to proceed much sooner." Capital controls were imposed at the end of March to prevent a flight of funds from a banking system flush with cash from Russian and European businesses, but also from many overseas Cypriots... 14 comments

FINANCE Minister Harris Georgiades said yesterday he anticipated the sale of part of the island’s gold reserves "during the next months", but the final decision rested with the Central Bank.Cyprus has to sell some of its gold reserves to raise about €400 million to finance its part of a €10 billion euro EU/IMF bailout, according to an assessment of financing needs prepared by the European Commission.The government confirmed last week that a sale of gold reserves was among the options for its contribution towards the rescue package... 8 comments

THE GOVERNMENT conceded yesterday it was not on the same page with the Central Bank Governor, confirming the growing rift between the two sides.“There is indeed a serious matter at hand...and it needs to be resolved,” Finance Minister Harris Georgiades told newsmen.But, he hastened to add, the two sides are “obliged to come to an understanding.” One point of contention, said Georgiades, has been the Governor’s failure to swiftly appoint a new board to the Bank of Cyprus, an omission which has left the bank “rudderless.”The government wants Bank of Cyprus to move away from its current status of being under administration as quickly as possible, even if that entails appointing an interim leadership, the minister said... 6 comments

THE time has come for Cyprus to foot the bill for past mistakes, Finance Minister Haris Georgiades said yesterday, as he warned that Cyprus could go bust if there was a delay in the ratification of a bailout deal with international lenders.State accountant-general Rea Georgiadou warned that the government needed an additional €80 million – on top of an €85 million reserve -- before April 24 to avoid a default.But the finance minister said this would not happen. “There is certainly no question of a default if everything goes according to schedule,” Georgiades told reporters after a lengthy discussion before the House Finance Committee. “We will face a risk if for some reason, either in Cyprus or in the eurozone, this agreement is not ratified... 20 comments

FINANCE MINISTER Michalis Sarris resigned yesterday after concluding a €10 billion bailout deal with international lenders in which the country almost overnight downsized its dominant banking sector and hit depositors with losses for the first time in the eurozone.Sarris, who was dispatched to Moscow last month seeking Russian aid as an alternative to across the board bank levies in Cyprus but returned empty-handed, said his main goal of agreeing a deal with lenders had been accomplished.But he said it was also appropriate to resign since his previous role as chairman of the Popular Bank, or Laiki, - the island's second largest lender wound down under terms of the bailout - was also likely to come under scrutiny... Read on

FINANCE Minister Michalis Sarris declined to comment late  last night on whether he managed to secure a deal with Moscow after two-days of marathon talks."No comment," Sarris said when asked in his hotel lobby if a deal with Russia was secured. Sarris was meeting Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov , after failling to agree on a deal on Wednesday.Quoting government sources, the Cyprus News Agency said Russian officials made it clear to  Sarris that the only thing under discussion was extending an existing loan of €2.5 billion.Cyprus and Russia had been in urgent talks over a possible financial rescue. They were discussing possible cooperation in the banking and energy sectors... 2 comments

FINANCE Minister Michalis Sarris has vowed to stay in Moscow to reach an agreement on ways to help Cyprus out of the quagmire, after yesterday’s meetings proved inconclusive. Sarris went to Moscow on Tuesday evening ahead of the Cypriot parliament’s rejection of the revised draft bill regarding a one-off bank levy on deposits. Russian assistance had become the great eastern hope of many Cypriots following rejection of the troika’s hard-hitting measures to ‘rescue’ Cyprus, which involved an unprecedented hit to depositors, including small insured savers... 5 comments