Cyprus Unable to borrow from international markets asked for help from its euro area partners and the IMF a year ago. But under the agreement hammered out over a nerve-wracking week in mid-March, 2013, Cypriot authorities had to force steep losses on depositors with savings over 100,000 euros in the country’s two largest banks in order to qualify for the financial lifeline _ the first time such a loss had been imposed on savers in the 14 year history of the euro common currency.
