Saturday, March 16, 2013

EXTREMELY DISTURBING: IMF Goes Directly After Bank Depositor Money

The banksters are getting desperate. The IMF today took an unprecedented step to grab bank depositor money.

In a new plan to bailout the government of Cyprus, under the watchful eye of the IMF, depositors in Cypriot banks will be hit with a one-time tax on their savings, as part of a €10 billion ($12.96 billion) bailout.

In a deal, announced early Saturday, accounts with more than €100,000 will be taxed at 9.9%, those with less at 6.75%, raising an expected €5.8 billion for the near-bankrupt nation.

Cypriot Finance Minister Michalis Sarris said the Cypriot Parliament would adopt the taxes over the weekend and the money would be extracted from accounts before banks take up business Tuesday. Monday is a public holiday.

According to WSJ, the IMF was the strongest advocate for having the bailout burden fall partly on depositors.

This is an extremely bold move to prop up a government and the banksters that loan it money.  It could cause bank runs in country's with shaky finances. It also signals very clearly the importance of keeping some money in a form that can not be easily grabbed by the establishment in panic. Think gold, silver, nickels and bitcoins.

UPDATE

WSJ is reporting:
Nervous depositors in Cyprus rushed to ATMs Saturday to drain their accounts following a bailout agreement with international creditors that includes a levy on all the country's bank accounts. 
Lines formed at many ATMs as people scrambled to pull their money out after word that the €10 billion ($12.96 billion) rescue package Cyprus agreed with its euro-area partners and the International Monetary Fund included a one-off levy on deposits.[...]
Cypriot bank officials said that depositors can access all their money except the amount set by the levy.
But that hardly assuaged people who continued to withdraw cash from ATMs until the machines ran out, unsure what or how much would be taxed. Officials said that withdrawing funds on Saturday wouldn't reduce anyone's levy.
The country's cooperative banks also shut their doors after depositors scurried in hopes of protecting their savings. Unlike commercial banks which remain closed on weekends, cooperative banks customarily open for business on Saturday.
The cooperative banks, which represent about a fifth of the island's banking sector, remained open only for a short time. However, people continued to have access to their funds through ATMs.

UPDATE 2

Picture of Cyprus ATM, which reads:  "We apologize, we are facing difficulties"

Pic via Yiannis Mouzakis


UPDATE 3

Line outside another Cyprus ATM

Pic via Yiannis Mouzakis
UPDATE 4


UPDATE 5 (via Travis Holte)

The Belfast News reports:
 News of the levy came as a shock to most people following strict assurances from Cyprus' President Nicos Anastasiades that he would not accept a deal which required depositors to share in the losses. Government spokesman Christos Stylianides said Cypriot officials had resisted intense pressure to accept a deposit levy of a whopping 40%.

10 comments:

  1. I have a high-end lawyer friend in London who is Greek Cypriot. She warned her family over a month ago that this was going happen and to get their money out. Hope they listened.

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  2. Once burned, twice shy.

    This shall probably have long-term repercussions.

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  3. Don't forget Chrisine Lagarde - IMF head - is a BFF of Obama and World Union organizer Leo Gerard.

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  4. Wait till our bankrupt govts see what a great idea this is.....Hope the sarcasm is clear

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  5. There are benefits and liabilities to living in the seat of Empire. I haven't seen this yet in my lifetime, but who would doubt under certain circumstances that the government/bankster cartel in the US wouldn't stoop to the level of the IMF in Cyprus?

    Could anyone present a better example of the importance of keeping your property diversified, portable and secret than this?

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  6. Another ringing endorsement for bitcoin and other non-fiat currencies!!

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  7. This is how banks should be run. But obviously no one was aware this could happen, which also is "unjust". Wait till it is either depositors lose money or money is printed here is in US. Oh wait, that is already happening.

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  8. The government of Cyprus announced today a new law that forces everyone to put their money back into the banks. Ever since the gov't taxed people over a weekend on their deposits, without the ability to withdraw their money, people have just removed their money from the banks and have refused to use any banking services. So, the gov't took this action to, "restore faith in the Cypriot banks."

    In an unrelated story, Barack 0bama met with the heads of the major U.S. banks that received stimulus money.

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  9. I think this will have repercussions far outside Cyprus. The news outlets are reporting it non-stop, and many south EU nations will see bank runs on Tuesday.

    Who could have foreseen the assassination of Ferdinand as the start of a world war? I think the IMF may have started WW3.

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    Replies
    1. Dale, that is exactly my fear as well. If they do not recend this policy by Tuesday, the genie will be out of the bottle and it won't be to long before it spreads to the rest of the banking system.

      But I think that is also the desired effect. Why else would you do this? There is not a single person out there who could convince me otherwise. You do not need an elaborate economic model to tell you that this will cause a bank-run of the likes the world has never seen. The people at the IMF are not inept. This is what they wanted, make no mistake about that.

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