Situation of Banks in Cyprus as of 29 March 2013


March 30, 2013     By Carlo Scevola & Partners

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A brief overview of the emergency measures approved by the Cypriot parlament in relation to the banking sector.
The Central Bank of Cyprus has announced some restrictive measures for banking transactions to handle the liquidity position of the system. In brief, those measures are:


1) No drafting of chegues are allowed;
2) Maximum amount that can be withdrawn from ATM is 300 euros per day and per banking institution;
3) Non-cash payments OR bank transfers outside Cyprus is not permitted;
4) Non-cash payments OR bank transfers to accounts of other banking institutions within the Republic is not permitted except if:

a) It relates to trading transactions within the ordinary course of the business and based on supporting documentation as follows:
- For payments up to 5,000 per day and per account, there is no restrictions;
- For payments from 5,001 and above, the Committee will have to approve that.
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b) It relates to the payment of employees’ salaries based on supporting documentation.
c) It relates to the payments/ transfer of funds through the use of credit/ debit cards, for amounts up to 5,000 euros per month, per person and per bank;
d) It relates to other form of payment/ transfer for which the Committee granted its approval.

5) Termination of Fixed Deposits prematurely is not permitted unless the funds are used to settle a loan received from the same banking institution;
6) On the expiration of a Fixed Deposit, the greater of 5,000 euros or 10% of the principal deposited, should be transferred to a new account of the investor. The rest (which is not to be transferred to that new account), should remain in that initial Deposit account for an additional 1 month;
7) The maximum amount that a person can transfer during his/her trip outside Cyprus is 1,000 euros;
8) The measures apply to all types of accounts and in all currencies.


The above measures Do not apply:

1) for amounts transferred To the Republic (they want to control extraction outside the Republic);
2) for amounts withdrawn (through the use of cards issued by an institution outside Cyprus) from accounts held in a country other than Cyprus;
3) for cashing cheques drawn on accounts held in overseas accounts in overseas banking institutions.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Carlo Scevola
As president and CEO of Carlo Scevola & Partners, Carlo Scevola is ultimately responsible for the success and satisfaction of each of the firm's clients. Mr. Scevola contributes strategic direction to each client engagement and may be deeply involved in the day-to-day planning and execution as well.
Mr. Scevola's background makes him well suited for international consulting work. An expert in both civil and common law, as well as quantitative finance, he is also a member of the UK Securities & Investment Institute, and he holds a MBA.
Known for his innovative thinking and broad-based expertise in operations, finance and business development, Mr. Scevola has run CS&P since the early 90's.

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Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication, it is not intended to provide legal advice as individual situations will differ and should be discussed with an expert and/or lawyer. For specific technical or legal advice on the information provided and related topics, please contact the author.