Eurozone, IMF reach 10-bln-euro bailout deal for Cyprus
The deal was announced by Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem after a meeting of eurozone finance ministers, which is also attended by IMF chief Christine Lagarde.
"The Eurogroup was able to reach a political agreement with the Cypriot authorities on the cornerstones of this agreement," Dijsselbloem told reporters.
"The assistance is warranted to safeguard financial stability in Cyprus and the eurozone as a whole," he added, Xinhua informed.
According to the bailout deal, depositors in Cypriot banks will be hit with a one-off tax on their savings, marking the first bailout for any eurozone country in which depositors will directly lose money.
Holders of bank accounts with more than 100,000 euros will be taxed at 9.9 percent, and an additional 6.75 percent levy will be imposed on deposits below that level, raising an expected 5.8 billion euros for the Mediterranean island.
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