Oct. 4 (Bloomberg) — The Cypriot government will seek an 11 billion-euro ($14.2 billion) bailout, 62 percent of gross domestic product, to recapitalize its banks and pay its bills, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter.
The country’s banks, which lost more than 4 billion euros in Greece’s debt restructuring earlier this year, need 5 billion euros of fresh capital, according to Finance Minister Vassos Shiarly, the people said. The so-called troika that oversees euro-area rescues puts Cypriot banks’ recapitalization needs at about 10 billion euros, the people cited Shiarly as saying.
A Finance Ministry spokesman declined to comment immediately on the information when contacted by Bloomberg News.
Cyprus on June 25 became the fifth country in the euro area to seek external aid. No amount was specified for the rescue, which will encompass the public sector as well as banks. Cyprus has also sought a 5 billion-euro loan from Russia. Igor Shuvalov, a first deputy prime minister, said Sept. 8 that Russia may make a decision on the request within a month.
The Cypriot government also needs 6 billion euros to redeem debt and close a budget gap through 2015, Shiarly has said, according to the people who declined to be identified because the information hasn’t been made public. Cyprus faces 4.7 billion euros of bond redemptions in the period, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
