Nearly a third of all deposits in Cyprus' oversized banking sector are held by Russians.
About a third of all deposits in Cypriot banks are believed to be held by Russians.
It has around three-quarters of all deposits and lends cheaply, widely and probably unwisely.
It now wants all deposits to be given a better spot in the pecking order for bank restructurings.
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The Irish government says it will guarantee all deposits in the country's main banks for two years .
The lending was often careless (the government guarantee of virtually all deposits gave banks more incentive to be reckless).
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In return for a state guarantee for all deposits, the banks have had to accept a new regulatory agency with sweeping powers.
Indeed when Wachovia, America's fourth-largest commercial bank by assets, was rescued this week, the FDIC created a structure that protected all deposits.
All told, the 6 largest US financial institutions scrutinized by Wilmers have 35% of all deposits and 53% of assets.
This would have seen a bank levy on all deposits over 100, 000 euros in banks in Cyprus and a smaller percentage on deposits of more than 20, 000 euros.
The Irish government made a surprise unilateral move this week to guarantee all deposits, bonds and debts in the six biggest Irish banks for the next two years.
Critics worry about the potential cost of guaranteeing all deposits.
The third is going off the euro and declaring that all deposits will be paid off in new Cypriot pounds, which the government will simply print out of thin air.
Cyprus was expected to impose a levy on all deposits in Cypriot banks for the purpose of bailing said banks out, which are otherwise at risk of failure and disorderly bankruptcy.
There is even a precedent: Italy imposed a small tax on all deposits in 1992 as part of its battle to stay in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, a precursor to the single currency.
So in most failures, it's true, the acquirer's been willing to pay us enough where we actually get more money by selling all the deposits to them and protecting all the deposits versus imposing a loss on the uninsured.
And the Russian angle was obviously the focus of many stories, with reports that somewhere in the area of 20-30 billion euros of deposits in the Cyprus banks are linked back to Russia (with some estimates at about 30-35% of all deposits).
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An early proposal to raise money through a levy on all bank deposits was quickly withdrawn.
Another option being considered is smaller tax on all bank deposits above 100, 000 euros.
But a buyer isn't going to take on the deal if all the deposits rush out the door.
The United States, Canada and Australia all have deposits that tiny mining firms are scrambling to bring into production.
The IMF had indicated that it would lend more only if Uruguay imposed an Argentine-style freeze on all bank deposits.
The Icelandic government seized one of its biggest banks, Landsbanki, on Tuesday, after agreeing to guarantee all banking deposits in the country.
With the initial plan to impose a levy on all bank deposits rejected by parliament, a number of alternatives have been suggested.
Cyprus has attracted money through its low tax rates, with Russians holding between a third and a half of all Cypriot deposits.
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In the Czech Republic, for instance, it holds almost a third of all retail deposits, and in Romania it has a quarter.
It's not like deposit insurance where they do cover all the deposits.
It was only halted after the government (eventually) guaranteed all its deposits.
Also, on the other side of the world, the governments of Australia and New Zealand have announced a blanket guarantee of all bank deposits.
Big Russian investors are believed to hold about a third of all Cypriot deposits - and reacted with fury when the initial plan to tax deposits by up to 9.9%.
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