A Furious Cyprus Begins Investigating Who Breached The Capital Controls

Related info:

Have The Russians Already Quietly Withdrawn All Their Cash From Cyprus? … YES!!!


A Furious Cyprus Begins Investigating Who Breached The Capital Controls (ZeroHedge, March 27, 2013):

On Monday we reported the very disturbing news that despite the ongoing liquidity blockade, capital controls and (somewhat) closed Cyprus banks, one particular group of people – the very same group targeted to prompt this whole ludicrous collapse of the island nation – Russian Oligrachs had found ways to bypass the ringfence and pull their money out quickly and quietly. We said that, if confirmed, “If we were Cypriots at this point we would be angry. Very, very angry.” Turns out the Cypriots did become angry, and the questions are finally starting. As Spiegel reports, the Cypriot Parliament, which may or may not last too long once the banks reopen tomorrow and the people realize that in a fractional reserve banking system, those deposits you thought were there… they are gone, poof, has begun investigating the capital flight that may means the destruction of Cyprus has been for nothing. Sadly, it is now too little, too late.

From Spiegel:

Banks have been closed and accounts frozen in Cyprus recently. Nevertheless, large amounts were moved out of the country’s crippled financial institutions on the eve of the bailout package. Lawmakers are suspicious and are investigating both the government and the Cypriot central bank.

Read moreA Furious Cyprus Begins Investigating Who Breached The Capital Controls

This Is How A Country Ends: Not With A Bang, But A Bailout

This Is How A Country Ends: Not With A Bang, But A Bailout (ZeroHedge, March 26, 2013):

Curious how in the New Normal a nation is brought to its untimely end without a single shot being fired? Dimos Dimosthenous, who has worked at the Bank of Cyprus for over 30 years, explains:

“That will be the end. Our jobs, our rights, our welfare funds will be lost and Cyprus will be destroyed.”

In short: not with a bang, but a bailout.

… But at least it still has the symbol for all that is wrong with the broke(n) status quo: the

First, however, much more pain, because as Cyprus’ FinMin Sarris said a short while ago, uninsured depositors in the second largest bank Laiki which is now pending lqiuidation, may lose 80% (read 100%… or more), and wait up to seven years for a payout. Of course, with the majority of the “evil, tax-evading Russians” long gone having used the chaos and assorted loopholes in the past week to get out of Dodge, the only people punished are assorted local hard workers, and domestic businesses, now set to liquidate as soon as they can afford the bankruptcy filing fee.

Finally, speaking of getting out of Dodge, it is surprising that while professing its love for all man-made bubbles and going all in stocks no matter the fundemantls, the firm that is the shadow overlord of Wall Street, BlackRock, is doing just that.

From the WSJ:

BlackRock Inc. the world’s largest money manager, has cut holdings of Italy and Spain government bonds over the past three months. The firm may shed more if the euro-zone’s growth outlook deteriorates.

We have been less enthusiastic about euro-zone sovereign debt compared to three to six months ago,” said Rick Rieder, chief investment officer of fundamental fixed income and co-head of Americas fixed income at BlackRock. “If growth continues to deteriorate in the euro zone, due in large measure to weak private-sector lending from a deleveraging banking sector, we would further reduce our positions in the euro zone, such as in Italy and Spain.”

Read moreThis Is How A Country Ends: Not With A Bang, But A Bailout

Poverty Hits America’s Suburbs

Sprawling and struggling: Poverty hits America’s suburbs (NBC News, March 22, 2013):

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Like many Americans who move to the suburbs, Tara Simons came to West Hartford because she wanted her daughter to grow up in a nice, safe place with good schools.Her fall from a more financially secure suburban life to one among the working poor also happened for the same reason it’s happened to so many others. She had a bout of unemployment and couldn’t find a new job that paid very well.

Read morePoverty Hits America’s Suburbs

Eurogroup Head Jeroen Dijsselbloem: ‘Levy On Wealth Is Defendable In Principle’

Dijsselbloem: “Levy On Wealth Is Defendable In Principle” (ZeroHedge, March 26, 2013):

While France’s Hollande and Spain’s Rajoy are double-teaming the ‘unique, exceptional’ nature of Cyprus, the non-template nature of the ‘deal’, the need for Europe-wide guarantees, and that the ESM should be used to recap banks and not depositors, none other than Dutch FinMin Dijsselbloem is at it again as he admits what many have suspected:

  • *DIJSSELBLOEM SAYS LEVY ON WEALTH IS DEFENDABLE IN PRINCIPLE

and, as if responding to the desperate French and Spanish leaders:

  • *DIJSSELBLOEM SAYS DEPOSIT GUARANTEE SYSTEMS ARE NATIONAL

It would appear our views are increasing appearing true – that a wealth tax is coming in much more systemic a manner than many expect currently.

EUR Fades As Portugal Admits Cyprus Deal ‘Sets Precedent’ – (UPDATE – Denied)

EUR Fades As Portugal Admits Cyprus Deal “Sets Precedent” – (UPDATE – Denied) (ZeroHedge, March 26, 2013):

UPDATE: Well that didn’t take long – The Portuguese Finance minister just denied his earlier comments and added that the Cyprus deal is NOT a template for future actions (EURUSD doesn’t believe him).

  • *GASPAR SAYS CYPRUS DEAL NOT A `TEMPLATE’ FOR OTHER COUNTRIES

The shambles continues in Europe. This morning we saw a plethora of EU officials explaining how the Cyprus ‘deal’ is a unique, one-of-a-kind debacle helping to talk back #DieselBoom‘s mis-words, only to have their credibility destroyed by the actual transcript and his actual words. Then we get the fact that a new EU-wide bill on deposit bail-ins is introduced… and now the Portuguese finance minister has added to the dysphoria by explaining that, “the Cyprus deal sets Euro precedent on deposit protection,” and we therefore assume on deposit impairment. It seems EURUSD also sees this…

Here We Go Again: EU Lawmaker To Push For Bail-In Resolution Law For Deposits Over €100K

Here We Go Again: EU Lawmaker To Push For Bail-In Resolution Law For Deposits Over €100K (ZeroHedge, March 26, 2013):

Here we go again:

  • EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT TO PUSH FOR DEPOSITORS WITH ABOVE 100,000 EUROS TO FACE BAIL-IN UNDER NEW BANK RESOLUTION LAW – EU LAWMAKER – RTRS

Basically, this is DieselBOOM ver 2.0. How long until someone scrambles to announce that this, too, was taken out of context?

More as we see it but the EURUSD sure isn’t waiting. Instead, it is plunging.

Full Reuters article:

The European Parliament will demand that big savers take losses if their banks run into trouble, a senior lawmaker told Reuters, adding momentum to a policy unveiled as part of a Cypriot bailout.

Although some policymakers have sought to portray Cyprus and the losses suffered by depositors at two of its banks as a one-off, many experts believe it marks a dramatic change in tack in how Europe deals with troubled banks, to spare taxpayers who have been on the hook for previous bailouts.

Jeroen Dijsselbloem, head of the Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers, said on Monday that in future, the currency bloc should first ask banks to recapitalise themselves, then look to shareholders and bondholders and then “if necessary” to uninsured deposit holders.

Now the likelihood is rising that tough treatment of big depositors will be written into a new EU law, making losses for large savers a permanent feature of future banking crises.

Read moreHere We Go Again: EU Lawmaker To Push For Bail-In Resolution Law For Deposits Over €100K

Cyprus And The Eurozone Bank Bailout Hypocrisy

Cyprus And The Eurozone Bank Bailout Hypocrisy (Testosterone Pit, March 25, 2013):

Cyprus didn’t prick the Eurozone bailout bubble, the notion that bank investors who took enormous risks to gain financial rewards would always be made whole by taxpayers. That bubble had been pricked in February. But it was the first time that the international bailout cabal, the Troika, stuck its needle into it—while Germany quietly bailed out all investors in one of its own rotten banks.

The bailout deal was pretty slick; it dodged the Cypriot parliament which had demolished the prior package. Well-honed Eurozone tactics: don’t allow voting to mess up the plans. Uninsured depositors would eat €4.2 billion—much of it Russian money. Junior and senior bondholders would kiss their €1.7 billion goodbye. That even senior debt, albeit only €200 million, was destroyed was a first in Eurozone history. Eurozone taxpayers would pick up the remaining €10 billion—still a lot for such a tiny country, but at least it wouldn’t be pocketed by some hedge funds, or worse apparently, Russian depositors.

Read moreCyprus And The Eurozone Bank Bailout Hypocrisy

The Great British Cash EUxodus Begins

The Great British Cash EUxodus Begins (ZeroHedge, March 26, 2013):

UK’s deVere advisory group reports, “more and more expats in Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece are now not unreasonably worried for their deposits in these countries,” and are seeing a “surge” in the number of British expats seeking advice about moving funds out of eurozone’s most troubled economies. As EUBusiness reports, “Whether the institutions like it and accept it or not, there is a real risk of a major deposit flight from these countries as people feel their accounts could be plundered next.” It is hardly surprising obviously (as we noted earlier the bid in German bunds) but we fear this escalation in cash exodus from the periphery will increase the need for a broader EU capital control scheme sooner rather than later.

Via EUBusiness,

Read moreThe Great British Cash EUxodus Begins

What Eurogroup Head Jeroen Dijsselbloem Really Said: Full ‘On The Record’ Transcript

What Dijsselbloem Really Said: Full “On The Record” Transcript (ZeroHedge, March 26, 2013):

Hopefully the memory of the new Eurogroup head, who in a one day lost more credibility than his admittedly lying predecessor Juncker ever had, will be jogged courtesy of this full transcript provided by Reuters and the FT of what he told two reporters – on the record – and for the whole world to read. Because, by now, we are confident everyone has had more than enough with watching the entire Eurozone rapidly and tragically turn itself into a complete and utter mythomaniac, kletpocratic circus.

Via The FT,

To clarify what Dijsselbloem said, we’ve decided to post a transcript of the portion of the interview dealing with how the eurozone might deal with bank failures in the future in light of the Cyprus example. The interview we conducted alongside Brussels bureau chief Luke Baker of Reuters (@LukeReuters) lasted about 45 minutes, and the portion on bank resolution lasted for about 10 of those minutes. The interview started out with some Cyprus-specific questions – like how capital controls might work, whether Dijsselbloem had learned any lessons form the Cyprus experience – and then shifted to a discussion about whether north-south relations were hampering EU decision making. That’s when Baker asked the first question about whether Cyprus set a precedent for future bank rescues…

Q: To what extent does the decision taken last night end up setting a template for bank resolution going forward?

A: What we should try to do and what we’ve done last night is what I call “pushing back the risks”. In times of crisis when a risk certainly turns up in a banking sector or an economy, you really have very little choice: you try to take that risk away, and you take it on the public debt. You say, “Okay, we’ll deal with it, give it to us.”

Read moreWhat Eurogroup Head Jeroen Dijsselbloem Really Said: Full ‘On The Record’ Transcript

‘Wealth Tax’ Contagion Is Rapidly Spreading: Switzerland, Cyprus And Now ….

The “Wealth Tax” Contagion Is Rapidly Spreading: Switzerland, Cyprus And Now …. (ZeroHedge, March 25, 2013):

It was only yesterday that we wrote about comparable problems to those which Russian depositors may (or may not be?) suffering in Cyprus right, this time impacting wealthy Americans and their Swiss bank accounts, where as a result of unprecedented DOJ pressure the local banks will soon breach all client confidentiality and expose all US citizens who still have cash in the former tax haven under the assumption that they are all tax evaders and violators. And in the continuum of creeping wealth taxes which first started in Switzerland, then Cyprus, and soon who knows where else, there was just one question: “The question then is: how many of the oligarchs, Russian or otherwise, who avoided a complete wipe out and total capital controls in Cyprus, will wait to find out if the same fate will befall them in Switzerland? Or Luxembourg? Or Liechtenstein? Or Singapore?” Today we got the answer, and yes it was one of the abovementioned usual suspects. The winner is…. Liechtenstein.

Read more‘Wealth Tax’ Contagion Is Rapidly Spreading: Switzerland, Cyprus And Now ….

Have The Russians Already Quietly Withdrawn All Their Cash From Cyprus? … YES!!!

As I’ve said here:

Cyprus ‘Bank Holiday’ Gets Another Extension, Bank Reopening Now Set For Thursday:

“First Cyprus has to make sure Putin’s ‘KGB Money’ has left the country, so that only the sheeple get screwed and not the Russian bear …”

The following article is a must-read!


Have The Russians Already Quietly Withdrawn All Their Cash From Cyprus? (ZeroHedge, March 25, 2013):

Yesterday, we first reported on something very disturbing (at least to Cyprus’ citizens): despite the closed banks (which will mostly reopen tomorrow, while the two biggest soon to be liquidated banks Laiki and BoC will be shuttered until Thursday) and the capital controls, the local financial system has been leaking cash. Lots and lots of cash.Alas, we did not have much granularity or details on who or where these illegal transfers were conducted with. Today, courtesy of a follow up by Reuters, we do.

The result, at least for Europe, is quite scary because let’s recall that the primary political purpose of destroying the Cyprus financial system was simply to punish and humiliate Russian billionaire oligarchs who held tens of billions in “unsecured” deposits with the island nation’s two biggest banks.

As it turns out, these same oligrachs may have used the one week hiatus period of total chaos in the banking system to transfer the bulk of the cash they had deposited with one of the two main Cypriot banks, in the process making the whole punitive point of collapsing the Cyprus financial system entirely moot.

From Reuters:

While ordinary Cypriots queued at ATM machines to withdraw a few hundred euros as credit card transactions stopped, other depositors used an array of techniques to access their money.

No one knows exactly how much money has left Cyprus’ banks, or where it has gone. The two banks at the centre of the crisis – Cyprus Popular Bank, also known as Laiki, and Bank of Cyprus – have units in London which remained open throughout the week and placed no limits on withdrawals. Bank of Cyprus also owns 80 percent of Russia’s Uniastrum Bank, which put no restrictions on withdrawals in Russia. Russians were among Cypriot banks’ largest depositors.

So while one could not withdraw from Bank of Cyprus or Laiki, one could withdraw without limitations from subsidiary and OpCo banks, and other affiliates?

Just brilliant.

Read moreHave The Russians Already Quietly Withdrawn All Their Cash From Cyprus? … YES!!!

The Russians Are Outtahere: ‘The Cypriots Killed Their Country In One Day’

The Russians Are Outtahere: “The Cypriots Killed Their Country In One Day” (ZeroHedge, March 25, 2013):

It appears the Cypriots (or more clearly the European leaders) do not appreciate the extent to which Russia has propped up the local economy. “When the Russians leave who is going to stay at the Four Seasons for $500 a night? Angela Merkel?” one wealthy Russian asks rhetorically, as The FT reports, they are receiving a deluge of overseas phone calls from helpful Swiss bankers looking to swoop up the deposit transfers. “The locals should understand: as soon as the money leaves, the people who go to restaurants, buy cars and buy property leave too. The Cypriots’ means of living will disappear,” and there are signs that the locals are getting how drastic this situation is, as a large billboard has sprung up at Larnaca Airport with a Russian flag and the words “Brat’ya ne predaite nas!” – “Brothers, don’t betray us!” Many Russian businessmen appear to have one foot out of the door already and are considering whih jurisdiction to move to as they await to see if Medvedev follows through on his threat to dismantle the double tax treaty with Cyprus.

And now the rumors are that billionaire Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich, owner of Chelsea Football Club, has been arrested in the USA.

Via The FT,

One Cypriot lawyer with Russian clients said he had already been approached by half-a-dozen European banks in locales ranging from Latvia to Switzerland to Germany, some of them promising they could open new bank accounts for his clients in under an hour.

The Cypriots killed their country in one day,” says Mr Mikhin, referring to Friday March 15, when President Nicos Anastasides accepted the EU’s proposal to seize €5.8bn in emergency funds from Cyprus’s local and foreign depositors.

Read moreThe Russians Are Outtahere: ‘The Cypriots Killed Their Country In One Day’

Eurogroup Head Jeroen Dijsselbloem Sends Europe Tumbling: ‘Cyprus A Template For EU’

Update:

Eurogroup Head Jeroen Dijsselbloem Says He Did Not Say What He Said


A Word Out Of Place Sends Europe Tumbling (ZeroHedge, March 25, 2013):

Perhaps the best example of a “word out of place” comes from the new Eurogroup head, Dijsselbloem, also phonetically known as Diesel-BOOM, who just may have ushered in the next, next wave of the Eurozone crisis:

  • Cyprus a Template For EU

Er… wasn’t it a special case, inside a unique case, wrapped in a one-time case? We will ignore the rather hilarious Freudian slip, and focus on what he was explicitly talking about with Reuters, which is the resolution model which was just put in place in Cyprus:

A rescue programme agreed for Cyprus on Monday represents a new template for resolving euro zone banking problems and other countries may have to restructure their banking sectors, the head of the region’s finance ministers said.

Read moreEurogroup Head Jeroen Dijsselbloem Sends Europe Tumbling: ‘Cyprus A Template For EU’

Cyprus Church Loses EUR100 Million, Curses Those Responsible

Cyprus Church Loses EUR100 Million, Curses Those Responsible (ZeroHedge, March 25, 2013):

Perhaps it was their comment last week that “with the brains in Brussels… the Euro can’t last,” but the Orthodox Church of Cyprus has lost over EUR100 million reacted to its holdings in Bank of Cyprus. Church leader Archbishop Chrysostomos II, in comments on TV, noted that “Cyprus asked for ‘crumbs’ compared to large size of Europe’s budget,” and that those responsible in Cyprus should be punished (he blames the outgoing government, Ministers of Finance, the Central Bank, and the Executive Directors of Banks) – “those that brought the place into this mess, should sit on the stool.” He noted that people will lose jobs and the state will be poorer but that the Church is prepared to help; and his first step – to send invitations to the heads of various Russian companies on the island.

Via Church of Cyprus,

Heads of Russian companies operating in Cyprus will call a working lunch, next Thursday, March 28, 2013, His Beatitude Archbishop Chrysostomos Mr. to encourage them to remain in Cyprus.

Read moreCyprus Church Loses EUR100 Million, Curses Those Responsible

Merkel ‘Very Happy’, Russian PM Furious: ‘The Stealing Of What Has Already Been Stolen Continues’

Merkel “Very Happy”, Russian PM Furious: “The Stealing Of What Has Already Been Stolen Continues” (ZeroHedge, March 25, 2013):

First, it is Merkel’s turn, which last week was furious at Cyprus for daring to reject the first flawed Eurogroup plan impairing insured depositors, only to praise it for now… rejecting said plan. To wit: Chancellor Angela Merkel, “as well as the government, is very happy that the troika, the euro group and Cyprus were able to reach an agreement,” German government spokesman Steffen Seibert says in Berlin. He added that difficulties will arise in the short term because of measures aimed to scale back Cyprus’s banking sector, “but in the long run it will lead to a healthier” industry. That remains to be seen, especially when factoring in the Russian response.Which wont be pleasant.

The official Russian line is one of a typical professional chess player – calm, cool, collected: Russia doesn’t see need to take any additional steps now, may still agree to restructure loan, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov told reporters earlier. Shuvalov, unlike Merkel and ECB’s Mersch who sees nothing but green shoots (literally) everywhere in Europe, said that Russia is concerned Cyprus crisis may have negative effect on euro. The deputy PM says that he has no estimate for Russian losses in Cyprus but added that Russian money in Cyprus is “legal.”

The unofficial line comes from former president, and current PM and Putin mouthpiece, Dmitry Medvedev. From Reuters:

Moscow reacted with anger on Monday to a European Union bailout of Cyprus that will result in heavy losses for foreign depositors at the Mediterranean island’s banks, many of which are Russian.

The stealing of what has already been stolen continues,” Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was quoted by news agencies as telling a meeting of government officials.

Read moreMerkel ‘Very Happy’, Russian PM Furious: ‘The Stealing Of What Has Already Been Stolen Continues’

Société Générale: Depression For Cyprus – 20% Drop In Real GDP By 2017

Next Up For Cyprus: Depression (ZeroHedge, March 25, 2013):

From SocGen:

Depression for Cyprus: Our Cypriot GDP forecast entails a drop of just over 20% in real GDP by 2017. This forecast had already factored in much what was agreed, but did not account for the additional uncertainty shock generated by the past week’s appalling political mess. Risks are clearly on the downside and Cyprus will in all likelihood require additional financial assistance further down the road. Accounting for less than 0.3% of euro area GDP, any downward revision to Cyprus will be barely visible on the euro area aggregate.

So much for the hope of recreating Iceland, and actually growing in 2-3 years. Congratulations Cyprus – you may have a depression for the next four years, but at least you have the (and helped Merkel win the September election).

The Importance Of Owning Your Own Bullion And Storing It Outside The Banking System

Related info:

RED ALERT: World’s Biggest Gold Storage Company Dumps US Citizens

Government Cracks Safe-Deposit Boxes

US DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY HAS TOLD BANKS – IN WRITING – IT MAY INSPECT SAFE DEPOSIT BOXES WITHOUT WARRANT AND SEIZE ANY GOLD, SILVER, GUNS OR OTHER VALUABLES IT FINDS INSIDE THOSE BOXES!

James G. Rickards of Omnis Inc.: Get Your Gold Out Of The Banking System


The Importance of Owning Your Own Bullion (ZeroHedge, March 24, 2013):

Quite a few articles have been written about the importance of owning Gold and other precious metals as a means of maintaining one’s wealth in the face of rampant money printing by the world’s Central Banks.

Today I’m going to share some ideas on how to actually buy bullion.

As far as precious metals go, you need to:

  1. Own actual Bullion
  2. Store it yourself (not in a bank)

I do not recommend owning a paper gold-based ETF because frankly the custodial risk is high (that is, there’s no telling if the Gold is even there or who would get it if the ETF is liquidated).

In comparison, physical bullion, stored outside a bank, is literally money in hand. You know where it is and you can find out what it’s worth. Compare that to a Gold ETF in which you’re hoping that the bank actually has the Gold and that it could actually send it to you if you requested (fat chance).

Read moreThe Importance Of Owning Your Own Bullion And Storing It Outside The Banking System

Cyprus Reaches Bailout Deal: Deposits Above €100,000 Will Be Frozen And Used To Resolve Debts – Laiki Bank Will Be Shuttered, With Thousands Of Job Losses

From the article:

Deposits above 100,000 euros, which under EU law are not guaranteed, will be frozen and used to resolve debts, and Laiki will effectively be shuttered, with thousands of job losses.


The revised bailout plan may not require further parliamentary approval since the idea of a levy was dropped.

The tottering banks hold 68 billion euros in deposits, including 38 billion in accounts of more than 100,000 euros – enormous sums for an island of 1.1 million people which could never sustain such a big financial system on its own.

Cyprus Reaches Bailout Deal With International Lenders (Huffington Post/Reuters, March 25, 2013):

* Deal to shut Laiki bank, transfer insured deposits

* Clinched hours before Monday deadline to seal EU bailout

* Without deal banks faced collapse, possible euro zone exit

BRUSSELS, March 25 (Reuters) – Cyprus clinched a last-ditch deal with international lenders on Monday for a 10 billion euro ($13 billion) bailout that will shut down its second largest bank and inflict heavy losses on uninsured depositors, including wealthy Russians.

The agreement emerged after fraught negotiations between President Nicos Anastasiades and heads of the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund – hours before a deadline to avert a collapse of the banking system.

Read moreCyprus Reaches Bailout Deal: Deposits Above €100,000 Will Be Frozen And Used To Resolve Debts – Laiki Bank Will Be Shuttered, With Thousands Of Job Losses

Cyprus Bailout: Deal Reached In Eurogroup Talks

Cyprus bailout: Deal reached in Eurogroup talks (BBC News, March 25, 2013):

Eurozone finance ministers have agreed a deal on a bailout for Cyprus to prevent its banking system collapsing, officials say.

Reports suggest the deal will include a levy on deposits of more than 100,000 euros in Cyprus’ two biggest banks.

The levy on accounts in Laiki Bank – the country’s second-biggest – could be as high as 40%, correspondents say.

Read moreCyprus Bailout: Deal Reached In Eurogroup Talks

Dutch Megabank ABN Amro To Halt Physical Gold Delivery – Another Gold Shortage?

Another Gold Shortage? Dutch ABN To Halt Physical Gold Delivery (ZeroHedge, March 24, 2013):

Based on a letter to clients over the weekend, it appears Dutch megabank ABN Amro is changing its precious metals custodian rules and “will no longer allow physical delivery.” Have no fear, they reassuringly add, your account will be settled at the bid or offer price in the ‘market’ and “you need to do nothing” as “we have your investments in precious metals.”

 

Via Google Translate,

Changes in the handling of orders in bullion

On 1 April 2013,. ABN AMRO to another custodian for the precious metals gold, silver, platinum and palladium. This we your investments in precious metals otherwise handle and administer. In this letter you can read more about it.

Read moreDutch Megabank ABN Amro To Halt Physical Gold Delivery – Another Gold Shortage?

Rampapalooza As Cyprus-Troika Reach Deal (Updates)

Rampapalooza As Cyprus-Troika Reach Deal (Updates) (ZeroHedge, March 24, 2013):

UPDATE: It appears the ‘deal’ to default/restructure the banks has been designed to bypass the need for parliamentary votes, since it is theoretically not a tax.

While we have little color on what kind of carnage the President of Cyprus had to accept to his fellow countrymen, the news is that :

  • *CYPRUS, TROIKA REACH AGREEMENT IN PRINCIPLE, EU OFFICIAL SAYS
  • *DEAL MADE AT DINNER WITH DRAGHI, LAGARDE, VAN ROMPUY, BARROSO

The terms, unsurprisingly what zee Germans wanted, are:

i) Laiki to be wound down;

ii) Bank of Cyprus to survive but with deposit haircuts, and

iii) deal would see secured deposits in Laiki moved to Bank of Cyprus.

In other words, a deal far worse then the original on proposed by the Eurogroup last week – when the banks still existed. The key appears to be the ‘saving’ of the insured depositors (crucial to avoid a pan-European bank run) and the crushing of the ‘whale’ depositors.

Read moreRampapalooza As Cyprus-Troika Reach Deal (Updates)

Cyprus Bailout Needs Rise By €2 Billion As Conditions Deteriorate Rapidly

Cyprus Bailout Needs Rise By €2 Billion As Conditions Deteriorate Rapidly (ZeroHedge, March 24, 2013):

A week of closed banks, depositor angst, and economic malaise is creating an increasingly vicious circle for Cyprus (and implicitly the European Union). As Die Welt notes, because the economic data of the tiny ‘irrelevant’ island could be considerably worse than previously thought (or forecast by Troika) thanks to the distortions created this week by bank closings, several people around the Troika said the exact amount of the bailout remains uncertain and could amount to EUR2bn more than expected. With the Troika capping their handout at EUR10bn of the current EUR17bn needed (and the deposit levy reportedly filling EUR6bn of that EUR7bn hole), the need for a bigger bailout – which seems increasingly likely – will fall on Cyprus banks’ depositors (or taxpayers) leading to a hard-to-beat downward spiral. Simply put, the more deposits are pulled, the more deposits need to be confiscated; and with retailer stocks running low (“will last another 2-3 days”) and cash-on-delivery demanded, the real economy will “have a problem if this is not resolved by next week.”

Via The Guardian,

Retailers, facing cash-on-delivery demands from suppliers, warned stocks were running low. “At the moment, supplies will last another two or three days,” said Adamos Hadijadamou, head of Cyprus’s Association of Supermarkets. “We’ll have a problem if this is not resolved by next week.”

Via Die Welt (and Google Translate),

Cyprus needs a lot more money than expected

A few hours before the emergency meeting of the situation seems to capture from bankruptcy Cyprus to deteriorate: From Troika says that money could not exceed the estimated range.

Cyprus needs for information of the “world” more money to bail out its banks and the stabilization of its national budget. Not initially agreed 17 billion euros were enough states in the field of negotiations. The exact amount is not certain. Several people around the troika said the “world” that the increased demand would amount to around two billion euros.

Read moreCyprus Bailout Needs Rise By €2 Billion As Conditions Deteriorate Rapidly

With Russia “Demanding Cyprus Out Of The Eurozone” Here Is A List Of Possible Russian Punitive Reprisals

With Russia “Demanding Cyprus Out Of The Eurozone” Here Is A List Of Possible Russian Punitive Reprisals (ZeroHedge, March 24, 2013):

As has been made abundantly clear on these pages since the breakout of the latest Cyprus crisis, the Russian policy vis-a-vis its now former Mediterranean offshore deposit haven-cum-soon to be naval base, has been a simple one: let the country implode on the heels of the Eurozone’s latest humiliating policy faux pas, so that Putin can swoop in, pick up assets (including those of a gaseous nature, much to Turkey’s chagrin) for free, while being welcome like the victorious Russian red army saving Cyprus from its slavedriving European overlords (a strategy whose culmination Merkel has very generously assisted with).

Curiously there had been some confusion about Russia’s “noble” motives in Cyprus (seemingly forgetting that in Realpolitik, as in love and war, all is fair). We hope all such confusion can now be put to rest following the clarification by Jorgo Hatzimarkakis, the German Euro deputy of Greek origin, who told Skai television on Sunday morning that Russia did not want Cyprus to stay in the eurozone.

From Kathimerini:

Read moreWith Russia “Demanding Cyprus Out Of The Eurozone” Here Is A List Of Possible Russian Punitive Reprisals

Why Cyprus 2013 Is Worse Than The KreditAnstalt (1931) And Argentina 2001 Crises

Why Cyprus 2013 is worse than the KreditAnstalt (1931) and Argentina 2001 crises (A View from the Trenches, March 24, 2013):

The Cyprus 2013, like any other event, can be thought in political and economic terms.

Political analysis: Two dimensions

Politically, I can see two dimensions. The first dimension belongs to the geopolitical history of the region, with the addition of the recently discovered natural gas reserves. The historical relevance goes as far back as 1853, the year the Crimean War began. The Crimean War took place in the adjacent Black Sea, but the political interest was the same: To avoid the expansion of Russia into the Mediterranean. The relevance of this episode was the break-up of the balance of power established after the Napoleonic Wars, with the Congress of Vienna, in 1815. From then on, a whole new series of unexpected events would lead to a weaker France, a stronger Prussia, new alliances and a final resolution sixty years later: World War I.  It is within this same framework that I see Cyprus 2013 as a very relevant political event: Should Russia eventually obtain a bailout of Cyprus (as I write, this does not seem likely) against a pledge on the natural gas reserves or a naval base, a new balance of power will have been drafted in the region, with Israel as the biggest loser.

The second political dimension refers to a point I made exactly a year ago, precisely inspired in the KreditAnstalt event of 1931. In an article titled: “On gold, stocks, financial repression and the KreditAnstalt of 1931” I wrote:

Read moreWhy Cyprus 2013 Is Worse Than The KreditAnstalt (1931) And Argentina 2001 Crises

Why Cyprus Matters (And The ECB Knows It)

Why Cyprus Matters (And The ECB Knows It) (ZeroHedge, March 23, 2013):

WHEN THE RED QUEEN IS AFTER YOUR HEAD

When Zig turns to Zag and the Red Queen is after your head then extraordinary care is necessitated. To quote Holmes, “The game is afoot” on the Continent.

I have been asked, with some frequency, why the bondholders have not been tagged in the Cyprus fiasco. That answer is simple. Most of Cyprus’s bonds are pledged as collateral at the ECB or in the Target2 financing program. Then one may also ask why the bonds of the two large Cypriot banks are not being hit. The answer is the same; most are held as collateral at the ECB or Target2. In both cases, remember uncounted liabilities, the government of Cyprus has guaranteed the debt. Consequently if the two Cyprus banks default it is of small matter as the sovereign has guaranteed the debt. However if the country defaults and leaves the European Union then it will matter and matter significantly as the tiny country of Cyprus would wipe out the entire equity capital of the European Central Bank. While it is not a matter of public record it is estimated that Cyprus has guaranteed about $11.6 billion of collateral at the ECB.

Read moreWhy Cyprus Matters (And The ECB Knows It)