My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

News

Raid on bank accounts in Cyprus

357 replies

MrsJREwing · 17/03/2013 03:46

Nearly 10% of savings will be taxed from private individuals savings, to save the banks.

OP posts:
Report
CogitoErgoSometimes · 17/03/2013 08:04

It's the extreme conclusion of 'wealth tax'. Anyone with a 'mansion' take note.

Report
mablemurple · 17/03/2013 08:52

We are not Greece/Cyprus, you're being comically alarmist.

Report
Bowlersarm · 17/03/2013 09:00

How is it alarmist, when it is about to happen? No one is making the story up

Report
LtEveDallas · 17/03/2013 09:12

Crikey, is there a link to this?

Who will it effect, just the Greek Cypriots or everyone with a Cypriot bank account?

When you go over there with the military you have to open a local bank account for your wages to be paid into - and trying to transfer the remains back to your UK bank account when you leave costs too (hence I came home with £3k cash in Euros rather than transfer the money to Barclays).

Is there an earning/saving limit?

Report
OfflineFor40Years · 17/03/2013 09:13

I find it alarming that this could be legal, although I understand it is still to be ratified by the coalition government? It's for all bank accounts not only large balances and I feel very sorry for all savers. Angry Sad Sad

Report
Bowlersarm · 17/03/2013 09:14

lteve it's a leading story in the national newspapers. Affects all with accounts in Cyprus

Report
OfflineFor40Years · 17/03/2013 09:15

Lt Eve, I think it for everyone regardless of nationality and the rate for accounts with less than 10,000 Euros is 6.75%.

Report
LtEveDallas · 17/03/2013 09:16

Bloody Hell DM Link

(Sorry for the DM link, I'm not a FT subscriber and it was the first one I found)

It seems its everybody being affected. That's awful

Report
CoteDAzur · 17/03/2013 09:20
Report
OfflineFor40Years · 17/03/2013 09:21

Accounts held in the British subsidiaries of Cypriot banks would not be affected as they are covered by the FSA (Sky News). Would the servicemen or expats normally have these sort of accounts?

Report
ErikNorseman · 17/03/2013 09:27

I'm impressed that the DM actually used the word 'decimated' in its correct context.

Report
Rosa · 17/03/2013 09:30

If Cyprus can get away with doing this then which country will be next ?

Report
OfflineFor40Years · 17/03/2013 09:37

Sorry, that should have been bank accounts under 100,000 Euros will be taxed at 6.75%

Report
niceguy2 · 17/03/2013 09:37

For me this is a very good illustration of why we need to tackle our debts/deficit now rather than stick our heads in the sand and carry on spending.

It's very interesting though that the BBC is reporting that the reason for this tax is partly because it is suspected that a lot of money held in Cyprus is laundered money. And as such the German's were baulking at the idea of throwing taxpayers money to save laundered cash. So the levy is the only way any rescue package was going to get through. The fact innocent savers end up suffering is simply a price worth paying. source

Report
DolomitesDonkey · 17/03/2013 09:42

It will be very interesting to see how the markets react tomorrow morning. Shades of Argentina?

For anyone thinking "it couldn't happen to me", I guess the Cypriots didn't think so either until a law was passed under their noses on a bank hol weekend.

Very unfair that this affects the savers and not the bond holders.

Privatise the profits, socialise the losses. Again.

I'm in the euro zone and wondering if I should empty my account today simply fro a bank run perspective.

Report
claig · 17/03/2013 09:45

A spokesman for the Cypriot government said yesterday the agreement with Brussels was ?serious but not tragic? and said that the EU had wanted a much higher levy but the government had fought hard against it.


That is what the elites think of the people



Tory MP Douglas Carswell added: ?We should all be extremely worried about this. It shows that ordinary Europeans are being fleeced by the Continent?s elite in order to rescue foolish banks

Report
Roshbegosh · 17/03/2013 09:47

That really will empty the banks. Unbelievable!

Report
LtEveDallas · 17/03/2013 09:47

Offline, when we are posted to Cyprus we get 6 weeks to open a Cypriot Bank Account, usually either with Hellenic or Laiki. It's a current account for your daily wages etc. you can still keep an allotment to a British Bank for savings - but of course if you use them you get charged.

On further reading it seems that it is 'savings' accounts rather than current accounts, so most soldiers I know keep their savings in UK and won't be affected.

It's the expats I feel sorry for. Lots of them have substantial savings and live off the interest. They sell up in UK and buy a smaller property in Cyp, so live off their savings. They will lose thousands it seems.

The Russians will be going spare. There are a huge number of Russian Multi Millionaires in Cyprus - and a lot of their money comes from more nefarious means. Maybe this is why the government are doing this - but penalising the 'normal' savers at the same time.

Report
meditrina · 17/03/2013 09:52

The Cypriot parliament vote has been postponed until tomorrow, according to SKY.

It seems to be affecting all deposits in all sorts of bank accounts. So even if there maybe recourse via FSA eventually, it could be a cash-flow wrecking event.

There was something on the news yesterday about accounts being inaccessible, so if you haven't already moved money off the island, it may already be too late.

Report
CoteDAzur · 17/03/2013 09:56

Of course, it will not be possible to transfer these accounts outside Cyprus without first paying the 10% tax. If they don't close that door, there will be no money left in any Cyprus account by tomorrow afternoon.

Report
claig · 17/03/2013 09:57

'Banks have already acted to seal off the amount of the levy - a 6.75 per cent tax on deposits under 100,000 euro and 9.9 per cent on those above - so depositors can't access it.'


www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2294388/ATMs-emptied-Cyprus-savers-learn-10billion-euro-bailout-agreement-includes-levy-bank-accounts.html

Report
claig · 17/03/2013 10:00

Restrictions have been imposed to stop people emptying their accounts or moving their money out of the country following the
deal with other eurozone finance ministers, under which ordinary citizens? deposits will be directly raided for the first time.

Report

Don’t want to miss threads like this?

Weekly

Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!

Log in to update your newsletter preferences.

You've subscribed!

claig · 17/03/2013 10:02

Clearly the elite knew the fear that this would create, but it seems they wanted to send a message.

Report
claig · 17/03/2013 10:06

'the EU had wanted a much higher levy'

and they wanted the message to be even louder

Report
MrsJREwing · 17/03/2013 10:07

Military seem to be ok then.

OP posts:
Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.