Following a teleconference held by the Eurogroup on the evening of the 18 March with regard to the economic situation in Cyprus, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, President of the Eurogroup, stressed that the Eurogroup continues to be of the view that small depositors should be treated differently from large depositors and reaffirms the importance of fully guaranteeing deposits below €100.000.

On behalf of the Eurogroup leaders and after holding a teleconference on the evening of the 18 March, President of the Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem recalled that the political agreement reached on 16 March on the cornerstones of the adjustment programme and the financing envelope for Cyprus reflects the consensus reached by the Cypriot government with the Eurogroup.

The Cypriot authorities will introduce more progressivity in the one-off levy compared to what was agreed on 16 March, provided that it continues yielding the targeted reduction of the financing envelope and, hence, not impact the overall amount of financial assistance up to €10 billion. The Eurogroup also highlighted that it continues to be of the view that small depositors should be treated differently from large depositors and reaffirms the importance of fully guaranteeing deposits below €100.000.

Mr Dijsselbloem also reiterated that the stability levy on deposits is a one-off measure. According to the President, this measure will -together with the international financial support - be used to restore the viability of the Cypriot banking system and hence, safeguard financial stability in Cyprus. He also underlined that in the absence of this measure, Cyprus would have faced scenarios that would have left deposit holders significantly worse off.