The capital controls set to be put in place in Cyprus will be re-evaluated after a seven-day period, the country’s finance Minister told the Financial Times.
Michael Sarris added that the controls will be “very differentiated”, adjusted to each bank’s requirements. “Our intention is to limit it as much as possible,” he told the British newspaper. “We are trying to figure out a sensible set of measures that is flexible enough to allow the functioning of the economy.”
According to Sarris some banks could be exempted. He specifically referred to foreign banks with ample liquidity that hold “transient funds” which tend to cycle in and out of the country to make payments and satisfy other business operations.
The Daily Telegraph reports that the capital restrictions are expected to stay in force until the approval of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Nicosia and the troika of international lenders.
Citing EU sources, the newspaper’s Brussels correspondent says that the MOU will not be ready for national approval until the third week of April, at earliest, concluding that capital controls will drag on into May.