Some applicants for VAT registration numbers are also being asked to put down a bond, effectively a deposit, in case they default without paying VAT.

BBC: Paul Gerrard

In part that is because banks are keen to shed their fund-management arms, either because they need to raise capital or because they no longer see a business case for combining deposit-taking with portfolio management.

ECONOMIST: Fund management

In this case, the Troika puts in question not just the credibility of deposit insurance per se but the safety of deposits in financial institutions against state confiscation.

FORBES: Cyprus: Welcome To The Roach Motel

Regarding cash deposits, most people know that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation guarantees accounts for up to 100, 000 dollars, or in the case of many individual retirement accounts, up to 250, 000 dollars.

NPR: Are Your Investments Safe?

The case for toughening capital requirements is particularly strong for banks that are implicitly backed by taxpayers, whether through deposit insurance or because they are judged too big to fail.

ECONOMIST: A new approach to financial risk