ECB Glimpse of Cyprus Debt Shows Limits of Bank Cleanup
The measures came alongside a 10 billion-euro rescue led by the euro area, the merger of the country’s two largest lenders, and the seizure of almost half the savings of some 21,000 customers.
Photographer: Simon Dawson/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
There was a time when a Cypriot on a moderate income could take a gamble on foreign real-estate worth more than his life savings.
One banking crash, 3 1/2 years of recession and an international bailout later, 58-year-old Stelios Charalambous is among the Mediterranean island nation’s many debtors who realize that time has passed.