Forex Flash: Cypriot banks held by control mechanisms – Deutsche Bank

FXstreet.com (Barcelona) - On the topic of Cyprus, all eyes were on the Cypriot banks today, which opened for the first time in almost two weeks. They opened midday and were armed with a series of new capital controls.

According to Macro Strategy Analysts J. Reid and C. Tan, “These controls include limiting withdrawals to €300 per day, banning checks and curbing the use of Cypriot credit cards abroad in an effort to contain and mitigate mass panic and action.”

Yiangos Demetriou, head of internal audit at the Central Bank, said that the controls would allow unlimited use of credit cards within Cyprus, but set a limit of €5.0k abroad. He said the measures would last for around one week but could be reviewed. According to Greek newspaper Kathimerini, Cypriots would not be permitted to send money overseas without documentation showing they are paying for imports or for accommodation and tuition costs for Cypriots studying abroad. The capital controls apply to all accounts, payments and transfers, regardless of currency used.