VOA标准英语2013--Banks in Cyprus Remain Closed After Bailout

 

Banks in Cyprus Remain Closed After Bailout

Banks in Cyprus closed their doors on March 15, and they have not yet re-opened. The trickling¹ cash flow already has taken its toll² on the economy.

Small businesses say they are doing very little trade, and some say they already have had to lay off employees.

The worst likely is still to come, though, because the deal struck with international lenders aims to shrink the Cypriot banking³ sector⁴, which is about eight times the size of the economy.

The country's biggest lender, the Bank of Cyprus, will be radically⁵ restructured and Laiki Bank, the second largest, is set to close. The bank employs 8,000 people - a massive blow for a small country with a population of less than 1 million.

James Ker-Lindsay, Cyprus expert at the London School of Economics, said the whole economy will be affected⁶.

"This deal has the potential to be completely devastating⁷ for Cyprus. The banks are a major part of the Cyprus economy," said Ker-Lindsay. "There is going to be a lot of businesses which will have lost money in all of this. This will trickle⁸ down through the economy. It will be absolutely enormous, the effects of this."

This EU/IMF deal differs from other euro zone bailouts because, instead of taxpayers¹⁰ footing the bill, depositors with large balances are bearing the costs. Cyprus academic Vassilis Monastiriotis said it is a major shift in euro zone policy.

"We had the most similar case of Ireland. We had the decision to push the bill to the taxpayer⁹ so the government, the Irish government took the responsibility of recapitalizing the banks, the deposits were guaranteed, and then this spilled over to the real economy," said Monastiriotis. "The case of Cyprus is exactly the opposite. It is the bond holders¹¹, the shareholders¹², and the depositors that take up the bill, and then we try to minimize the implications to the government."

On Monday the head of the Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, suggested the rescue program for Cyprus could be a new template for resolving the banking crisis in Europe. He said, "If the bank can't do it, then we'll talk to the shareholders and the bondholders, we'll ask them to contribute to recapitalizing the bank, and if necessary, the uninsured deposit holders."

Following his comments, financial markets dropped. Monastiriosis said it would be a dangerous precedent¹³ to set.

"There is a big risk of destabilizing the banking system of the euro zone with this kind of solution because the savings¹⁴ above 100,000 euros are not guaranteed anywhere in the euro zone. This may lead to very significant outflows of capital from the euro zone - definitely from the south of the euro zone to the north. But also potentially outside of the euro zone, and this will create more problems then it solves," said Monastiriosis.

For now, though, it is the Cypriots who have to cope with the immediate¹⁵ impact of their banking situation.

1 trickling   

n.油画底色含油太多而成泡沫状突起v.滴( trickle的现在分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动

参考例句：

• Tears were trickling down her cheeks. 眼泪顺着她的面颊流了下来。
• The engine was trickling oil. 发动机在滴油。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

3 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

4 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

5 radically   

ad.根本地，本质地

参考例句：

• I think we may have to rethink our policies fairly radically. 我认为我们可能要对我们的政策进行根本的反思。
• The health service must be radically reformed. 公共医疗卫生服务必须进行彻底改革。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

8 trickle   

vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散

参考例句：

• The stream has thinned down to a mere trickle.这条小河变成细流了。
• The flood of cars has now slowed to a trickle.汹涌的车流现在已经变得稀稀拉拉。

9 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

10 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

11 holders   

支持物( holder的名词复数 )； 持有者； （支票等）持有人； 支托（或握持）…之物

参考例句：

• Slaves were mercilessly ground down by slave holders. 奴隶受奴隶主的残酷压迫。
• It is recognition of compassion's part that leads the up-holders of capital punishment to accuse the abolitionists of sentimentality in being more sorry for the murderer than for his victim. 正是对怜悯的作用有了认识，才使得死刑的提倡者指控主张废除死刑的人感情用事，同情谋杀犯胜过同情受害者。

12 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

13 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

14 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

15 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。