Archbishop of America calls meeting on Cyprus

Archbishop of America Demetrios has called a meeting of leading Greek Americans on Wednesday to discuss the situation in Cyprus and ways to help the Cypriot people.

Cyprus’ Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides is expected to address those attending the meeting by teleconference and brief them on the latest development, outlining the country’s needs and informing them about the solidarity fund which the Cyprus House of Representatives has decided to set up.

 

“The National Solidarity Fund”, according to legislation passed by the Cyprus House, aims at providing funds for credit institutions and help recapitalize them, in addition to providing funds for the Republic of Cyprus.

Participants to the meeting are expected to discuss coordination efforts by the Greek American community to help Cypriot institutions whose deposits have suffered a haircut. There also discussions about investments in Cyprus.

Last week Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades had a telephone conversation with Archbishop Demetrios, who expressed his support and solidarity.

 

During Saturday’s meeting of the Cyprus Federation of America, in New York, the Greek American community will discuss ways to help the Cypriot economy.

 

Following the country’s bailout application to the EU and the IMF, last summer, and the conclusion of a preliminary agreement on a Memorandum of Understanding between the Troika and the Cypriot authorities, a recent Eurogroup decision has imposed losses on unsecured deposits – over 100.000 euros – as part of a rescue package for Cyprus.

The country’s second largest bank, the Cyprus Popular Bank (CPB), is set to split into a “bad” and a “good bank”, with the second part merging eventually with the Bank of Cyprus (BoC), the largest bank on the island.