Cyprus Rescue Risks Backlash

At WSJ, "Unprecedented Move to Levy Fee on Island's Bank Accounts Stokes Worry in Euro Zone; Asian Markets Open Lower":

The euro zone took the unprecedented step of taking a bite out of depositors' accounts in Cypriot banks to help pay for its bailout of the island's financial system, a high-risk decision that could erode savers' confidence across the currency bloc and add to popular anger over its handling of the crisis.

The decision to raise €5.8 billion ($7.6 billion) from taxes on depositors—including individuals with small amounts in their accounts—risks a political backlash for the newly elected center-right government on the Mediterranean island and a wider political fallout for the euro-zone leaders who are guiding the bloc's crisis strategy.

Asian shares and the euro fell sharply in early trading Monday as markets reacted to the bailout. Japan shares dropped 1.8%, Australia fell 1.5% and South Korea fell 0.5%. "The feeling is that the euro crisis could be back and that you could see full-on contagion," said Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy and chief economist at Amp Capital in Sydney. "But I suspect that we are going to hear reassurances from other countries."

A tax on depositors—6.75% on deposits up to €100,000, and 9.9% above that level—was the only way out for the bloc's finance ministers after Germany, the euro zone's biggest economy, and the International Monetary Fund insisted that financial aid to Cyprus should be limited to €10 billion.

With the money due to have been withdrawn electronically from bank accounts over the weekend, politicians in Nicosia were discussing how they might adjust the levy to make it appear fairer. Monday is a public holiday on the island, when banks are closed, but European officials said contingency plans were being put in place to calm any turmoil in the country's financial system when the banks eventually reopened.

Since the global financial crisis began in 2008, few European bank depositors have taken losses. Denmark forced some large depositors to do so in 2011, when two midsize lenders collapsed. Iceland also decided not to repay foreign depositors when it suffered a bank crisis in 2008—although the British and Dutch governments stepped in to make sure savers didn't incur losses. In 1992, Italy imposed a small tax on its depositors.

More at Zero Hedge, "Cyprus: The World’s Biggest 'Poker Game'." And Journal 14, "€urosclerosis: The bank account levy in Cyprus."

And from Megan McArdle, at the Daily Beast, "After Cyprus, Is Rest of Europe Next?"