Bank levy ‘least painful' for Cyprus

"I chose the least painful option, and I bear the political cost for this, in order to limit as much as possible the consequences for the economy and for our fellow Cypriots," Anastasiades said in a televised address to the nation on Sunday.
As a condition for a desperately needed 10 billion euro ($A12.6 billion) bailout for Cyprus, fellow eurozone countries and international creditors on Saturday imposed a levy on all deposits in the island's banks.
Deposits of more than 100,000 euros will be hit with a 9.9 per cent charge, while under that threshold the levy drops to 6.75 per cent.
Anastasiades urged all political parties in Cyprus to ratify the terms of the EU deal when parliament meets on Monday.
"I urge the parliamentary parties to decide, and I will fully respect their decision, in the best interests of the people and this country," Anastasiades said.

"I hope that together, based on the facts as they have developed, we will take the wisest decision," he said, adding: "The road ahead will not be easy."
"The solution we came to is certainly not the one we wanted, but it's the least painful under the circumstances," the president said.
Anastasiades needs to get the legislation ratifying the deal through parliament before banks reopen on Tuesday after a long three-day weekend or face a run on accounts.
But Cyprus media reported the scale of revolt against the agreement among MPs has thrown into disarray his efforts to do so over the weekend, and he may have to declare an additional bank holiday on Tuesday.
Cyprus also postponed until Monday an emergency debate in parliament on the deal that was scheduled for Sunday.