TagsGreece

Twelve flights affected by strike

17/05/13
FIVE departures and seven arrivals at Larnaca and Paphos airports were delayed yesterday to and from Greek airports due to a four-hour strike by Greek air traffic controllers from 12 noon until 4pm.According to Cyprus airport spokesman Adamos Aspris, the affected flights were to and from Athens, Thessaloniki and Patra... 1 comment

‘Complications with Piraeus deal for Cypriot units’

24/03/13
UPDATED 20:22 Talks on the transfer of Cypriot banks’ Greek units to Greece have been frozen on the instructions of President Nicos Anastasiades, the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) reported. The matter of transferring the operations to Greece’s Piraeus Bank will be part of a comprehensive deal for Cyprus’ bailout tonight at the Eurogroup, the report said... 6 comments

Greece’s Piraeus to buy out local units of Cypriot banks

By George Georgiopoulos and Lefteris Papadimas 23/03/13
GREECE’S Piraeus Bank has been chosen to take over the Greek branches of Cypriot lenders that are being sold, Greece's bank bailout fund confirmed yesterday.The deal is subject to approval by European competition authorities, a statement from the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund said. It did not provide terms of the deal.The statement confirmed a Reuters report citing banking sources saying Piraeus had beaten out Alpha Bank in the race for the Greek units of Cyprus's two largest lenders - Bank of Cyprus and Cyprus Popular... 3 comments

Cypriot ‘no’ inspires Greeks to rail against austerity

By Harry Papachristou 21/03/13
GREEKS and opposition parties inspired by the Cypriot rejection of an unpopular bailout deal urged Athens yesterday to stand up to foreign lenders whose demands have resulted in repeated rounds of austerity that have made Greek life a misery."See what Cyprus did? We are proud of them," said Fey Papadopoulou, 22, a university student. "They should be an example for our politicians, who have succumbed to every demand.""The Cypriots set an example to follow," left-leaning Eleftherotypia said in its leading editorial. "How can the Cypriots say 'no' and we can't even reject a single property tax?", ran a headline on Greek television channel Antenna... 3 comments

Greece close to picking buyer for Cypriot bank units

By Lefteris Papadimas and George Georgiopoulos 20/03/13
 GREECE is close to completing a deal for a Greek takeover of the local units of Cypriot banks, after at least two of the country's biggest lenders showed interest, government officials and bankers said yesterday.Greece has been rushing to wrap up the deal in a bid to protect its battered banking system from the fallout from a plan to impose a levy on bank deposits in Cyprus, but its efforts have been held up by delays in Nicosia in approving the tax.Eurozone finance ministers excluded the Greek branches of Cypriot banks from the controversial tax included in the island's international bailout on condition that those units would be transferred to Greek banks... 9 comments

Delay to Cyprus bank levy risks sales of Greek units

By Harry Papachristou and George Georgiopoulos 19/03/13
DELAYS in approving a Cypriot bank levy risk derailing a plan for Greek banks to take over the local units of Cypriot lenders before a three-day weekend ends today, bankers said.Athens has been sounding out interest among local banks in taking over the Greek units of their Cypriot peers since the island's bailout deal, of which the proposed tax on deposits is a part, was announced on Saturday.But Nicosia's second postponement of a vote on the levy until today means a deal may not be finalised quickly."A transfer might be impossible as long as Cyprus has not approved the deal," a senior Greek banker involved in the takeover talks told Reuters on Monday... Read on

Cypriot banks to transfer Greek units to Greek owners

17/03/13
 CYPRIOT banks will transfer their Greek units to Greek owners as part of the island's international bailout agreed earlier yesterday, two government and banking sources in Athens told Reuters.Cypriot banks account for the bulk of the €0 billion that Nicosia will get from eurozone countries to stave off bankruptcy. In sharp contrast with previous bailouts for other indebted nations, the rescue package is co-funded by levies on bank deposits.The units of Cypriot banks in Greece, which account for about a tenth of Greece's banking market, were specifically excluded from the levy after a deal to transfer them to Greek lenders, one senior banking source and one senior finance ministry official said... 10 comments

Kasoulides: all sides should be involved in peace process

By By Stefanos Evripidou 16/03/13
TURKEY AND Greece should also have a seat at the negotiating table when peace talks to solve the island’s ongoing division resume, said Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides. The new minister was quoted in yesterday’s Milliyet, a Turkish daily, saying that the method of the peace talks employed up to now had to change. During an interview with the Turkish paper in Brussels, Kasoulides said the economy was clearly a priority right now but that the new government would also proceed with the issue of the Cyprus problem. The government will send clear signals to Turkey in the coming months, he said, expressing hope that these signals would not remain unanswered. ... 7 comments

Signs of climb down on corporate tax rate

By George Psyllides 12/03/13
 THE GOVERNMENT appears prepared to agree to a small increase in Cyprus’ corporate tax rate to stave off IMF pressure for investors to take losses on bank deposits as part of a bailout, a source close to the talks with international lenders said yesterday.A source with direct knowledge of the government’s consultations with the lenders told Reuters that a "small" corporate tax increase could be considered by Cyprus, along with a temporary levy on capital gains."It looks like consultations are starting to yield results, and the proper compromises are being found," the source said... 12 comments

Greece and Cyprus will turn crisis into opportunity

By George Psyllides 12/03/13
CYPRUS will rise again, President Nicos Anastasiades said yesterday, stressing his determination to take all necessary measures to beat the island’s economic woes that brought it to the brink of bankruptcy.“We have been through tougher times and we managed to rise again,” Anastasiades said following talks with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras in Athens. Referring to the Turkish invasion in 1974, Anastasiades said “the biggest catastrophe was transformed into an economic miracle because we have stubbornness and determination.”Anastasiades said the two sides had a productive and fruitful discussion, which confirmed “our willingness for closer cooperation”, to the benefit of both countries... 12 comments
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