Bail-in reimbursement platform to reopen

The electronic platform for depositors and bondholders burned in the 2013 bank bail-in will be reactivated over the next few days for people who previously applied but received no reimbursement, while the government plans to roll out a new reimbursement scheme for 2027, an official said on Monday. Andreas Zachariades, permanent secretary at the finance ministry, was explaining to MPs the state of play with the Solidarity Fund – set up in 2018 to reimburse people whose savings were wiped out in the financial meltdown. The first disbursement from the fund took place in 2025, from a scheme for that year with a budget of €100 million. Zachariades said that of this amount, €28.7 million was not paid out, for various reasons. This concerns approximately 1,200 applicants whose losses were confirmed, but they did not provide their Iban details to the platform – so their applications could not be processed. The €28.7 million will also be used for payouts to people who had objected to the reimbursement amount, their objections were approved, but for technical reasons the payouts were not made. This suggests that, so far, €71.3 million has been paid out to depositors and bondholders. By comparison, total losses incurred during the 2013 haircut come to an estimated €2 billion. The government calls it a ‘partial replenishment scheme’ – avoiding the term ‘compensation’. Moreover, Zacharides revealed the government’s intention to re-open the online platform for people who have not yet applied. This would broaden the database, prepping the way for an entirely new reimbursement scheme planned for 2027. For 2026, and to burned savers’ consternation, no reimbursement scheme was made available. Asked how many individuals have received payouts to date, the ministry official said 7,160. As to the Solidarity Fund from which payouts are made, Zachariades said it currently has cash reserves of €240 million. From this there will be deducted the aforementioned €28.7 million. In 2027, the state intends to make another cash injection into the fund of €50 million. MPs queried Zachariades regarding state-owned land plots, initially intended to fund the replenishment scheme. The official said this ran into constitutional issues, as state property cannot be used to fund the scheme; proceeds from the sale of state property can only be used for charity. The state had earlier set aside various immovable properties – worth some €100 million – for the Solidarity Fund. But this amount cannot be tapped. Elam MP Marios Pelekanos asked why all the cash reserves of the Solidarity Fund have not been disbursed to beneficiaries. Zachariades’ explanation was a technical one: he said that all disbursements, including those from the Solidarity Fund, are governed by budgetary caps, per an EU directive. “If I give €211 million, that would raise the cap by two percentage points. There is a ceiling for each fiscal year.” In parliament, a representative of the legacy Laiki Bank depositors’ association (Sykala) complained that from 2023 to 2026 there ought to have been made four disbursements – but instead only one happened. Noting that 2026 is “the best” fiscal year over the past decade, the rep remarked that “if the state cannot meet its commitments this year, it never will.” Meanwhile a representative of the bondholders’ association spoke of an “orchestrated heist”. He pointed out a series of court decisions in lawsuits brought against Laiki, where “we proved that we fell prey to deception and fraud”. However, in practice those court rulings proved “pointless” since Laiki is now defunct. In a loaded comment, the same rep predicted that the second reimbursement tranche would be given just before the 2028 presidential elections. “After all, the families of the burned bondholders represent a major voting bloc.” Under the 2013 bailout programme between Cyprus and international lenders, large depositors were forced to pay for the recapitalisation of the Bank of Cyprus, heavily exposed to debt-crippled Greece. As for Laiki, all uninsured deposits there were wiped out, and the lender was wound down and its operations folded into the Bank of Cyprus.