The dilemma seems to be that if they impose a levy, they will get a bank run. If they don't impose a levy, the EU will refuse to support Cyprus any further - which will cause a bank run. It looks like the political parties are all jockeying for position to see who comes out of it looking the least responsible for the mess. Nothing new there.

This won't help any expat Brits over there but the Brit government have guaranteed full compensation for any Brit government employees or Forces personnel who are subject to these measures.

Heck even the idea that this could happen might spark a bank run. Might not be a bad idea to stick it under the mattress until this all plays out.

:haha: I thought you guys were broke.

What was Steed's Credit card number again?:hmm2:

It won't matter if he is residing in Cyprus....non UK laws.

Are we there yet ???? what's in the 14th amendment ???? What's McDonald vs Chicago have to do with it. http://www.cga.ct.gov/2010/rpt/2010-R-0314.htm, Why are states and the fed more worried about our guns than our economy, from what I read they are violating the constitution, I know some of these new government types took an oath while standing ankle deep in the graves of Sandy Hook, with their fingers crossed behind their backs.

Nevermind, I forgot Steed was busy defending some South Atlantic island.:shucks:

What exactly has that got to do with a levy on Cypriot bank accounts?

Such assurances only hold ground if the disaster is extremely limite din size. When the mjaor part of a national bank envcriopnment goes down the drain, its just bits of paper then. The guarantees given for German savings at banks are sufficient for only 0.5 or 3.0% (I'm not sure which one it was) of customers' savings - and that was in 2009. Since then a great money devaluation has moved on, and more money was flooded onto the market.

Needless to say that the state giving such guarantees is a customer of the banks, and that the money such guarantees will be compensated with is just more of this wonderful thing called FIAT money.

It's all just a big illusion show to keep the mob silent in the street.

I still wonder in what way Cyprus is system-relevant,m and in what way the Cypriotic government can assume that other people owe it to them to pay for their corruption, incompetence and mismanagement. It was the Cypriotic people voting them into power, and they share the responsibility of what is being done in their name, therefore.

And why the heck have people from Greece and Britain, or any foreigners at all, moved their saving from their country to banks in - Cyprus? It's not as if the situation in Cyprus was not known since years, eh? No risk no fun, or what? My sympathy is limited. Very.

I have talked my parents into taking their savings from the bank and hide them well privately. Interests are so lousy here that the small raise in additional expropriation resulting from not even getting this caricature of an interest rate does not count anyway. Having savings on your bank these days means you get robbed, slowly, but constantly. and if the system fails over night, you cannot take it from the bank. That is a top level concern these days, I think. Even in Germany. Because if something really bad happens, then it will happen fast, unfolding within hours. The hour you notice that prices for good and items, property and real values explode suddenly, it will already be too late for almost everybody. And if the crash is politically wanted, you do not even get that warning time.

One rumour I heard was that the Cyprus situation was a test run for a new type of EU bailout clause, if that is the case then it has not exactly gone well. :hmmm:

Well , what happens over there might just happen over here,, the question still stands why is our governments state, local, fed,, more worried about our guns than our economy????? It is a no brainer, they got to keep us distracted from the real issues like what is going on over there. Will we see this story in our newspapers or on the morning network news tomorrow.??? and plus I just happened acrossed it,, figured I slip it in.Where are my manners I see you're new, welcome aboard, you'll soon learn my threads turn into trainwrecks fun to watch,, but not fun to be in...

The US government isn't trying to arrange a bailout from the EU. Why would it need to impose a levy? And as Skybird will no doubt point out, the US government can always 'tax savings' by printing money (Cyprus can't, obviously, as other EU members would be rather p****d off to see their own money devalued). Printing money has the added 'advantage' that it works just as well when savings are hidden under mattresses as when they are in the banks.

As for the US government being more concerned about guns than the economy, I suspect it is more likely the case that it is easier to propose plausible fixes for the former than the latter (assuming that you think there is anything that needs 'fixing' concerning guns - I get the impression you don't). It is an old trick - old as politics itself, I'd think - for politicians to disguise their inability to actually do anything fundamental in economics by making controversial proposals elsewhere.

Well said, Mr West. So what is the moral of this story????. Gee Wally I don't know. The moral of this story is that your money and wealth doesn't belong to you and is subject to confiscation, sound familar it has been said recently and has been in history books..You didn't build that, what in the left of Stalin is that. I hear they closed the banks in Cyprus till thursday.

The biggest problem here is the fact that Cyprus banks have been used for years by Russians as a tax haven. This is commonly known although not widely publicized.

Russian businessmen/politicians will siphon off bribes, graft, illegal/undeclared profits, hide them in a Cyprus bank and then "borrow" the money they deposited as a "loan" garanteed by their deposits. The money is thus laundered and comes back to Russia clean. This has been a huge highly profitable business for Cyprus banks for years.

Germany is, of course, not interested to ask its taxpayers to fork out additional funds in what would be an indirect bailout of Russian billionaires.

The question of course is always what is the alternative solution?

Guarantee deposits under 100k euros and apply a set of tax bands for amounts above that limit, (10% upto 250k, 15% upto 500k, 20% on 500k and over) for example