The escape had begun before the crisis precipitated. In the first two months of the year, about two billion euros flew away from the banks of Cyprus, more than 4% of the total. According to ECB data, in December the island's institutions held funds for 48,4 billion euros, while in January this amount was reduced to 47,4 billion (-2%) and last month to 46,4, 2,1 billion (-XNUMX%).
All this long before the wave of withdrawals that should now hit Cypriot banks, due to forced withdrawals on deposits exceeding 100 euros imposed as part of the bailout plan agreed with the Troika. Today the branches have opened up to customers after 12 days of closure, but with severe limitations and ceilings on the possibility of withdrawing cash or transferring funds.
The first to withdraw money from the Mediterranean island were not the Russians (owners of the largest deposits in Cypriot land), but the citizens of the Eurozone, who took away a third of their deposits in the month of February alone (already in January there was a significant -14,6%). In this case, the data emerges from the tables of the Central Bank of Nicosia.
