Troika begins review of bailed-out Cyprus
International lenders on Wednesday began their third assessment of the Cyprus economy to see if Nicosia is upholding its obligations under a bailout accord struck last March.
Cyprus has successfully completed two similar reviews by the so-called troika of lenders.
The latest examination will run two weeks and focus on bank restructuring, the planned privatization of state assets and how to deal with nonperforming loans.
The central bank said troika technocrats, who will be on the island until February 12, started their mission with “general discussions” on the financial sector.
They will also meet in coming days with officials from the major banks and the cooperative banking movement, which is undergoing a 1.5-billion-euro restructuring process.
Nicosia has said it will stick to the bailout agenda no matter how unpopular it is, but the troika will also look at revenue-raising measures and how effective they have been.
A survey released on Wednesday by the University of Cyprus estimated the economy contracted 5.5 percent in 2013 – lower than the troika’s forecast of 7.7 percent – and that it will continue to shrink by 5.4 percent in 2014.
[AFP]
