Imagine logging into your bank and seeing this:

[Ruby the Liberal]

The Cyprus lockdown went into effect. This image has been emailed to me twice now.

Damn.

[BlueStreak]

1. If you can't trust a crooked banking system in a despotic 3rd world country to keep your offshore

money safe, whom can you trust.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

21. Since when is Cyprus the third world?

You need to get out more, or buy an atlas.

[BlueStreak]

48. It was a joke, but seriously

Greece is practically third world at this point. And when you have a little island with two separate populations that can't stand one another, that sounds like a third world setup to me. Add to that a banking system that apparently thrived on rich crooks stashing their money there, and it sounds like a banana republic without the bananas.

[elehhhhna]

27. lol.

[DesertFlower]

2. holy moly. nt

[Hayabusa]

4. Wow, imagine only being able to us 15% of your money...

Holy crap.

[sabbat hunter]

5. so they can use

150k euro the rest is blocked? That is no good.

At the same time the government of Cyprus needs to greatly crack down on the laundering of money thru its banks from foreign sources, in many cases Russian sources.

[BlueStreak]

8. This is what I have been saying

I caught a lot of flack here for my criticisms of the international banksters being able to just make individuals' money essentially vanish overnight. People said "Oh is it mostly just Russian organized criminals, and who cares about those rich people anyway?"

But mark my words. If the banksters can do it in Cyprus, it won't be that long before they try it here.

Now that people can see graphically what I was talking about, perhaps there will be a few "Oh, now I understand" comments surfacing here. or maybe not.

[Recursion]

10. the 150k is all that's the equivalent of FDIC-insured. Same thing can happen here

And in fact does whenever the FDIC shuts down a bank.

[BlueStreak]

15. It wasn't a bank failure. It was a money grab by the EC banksters

The bank is still in business. The money didn't go back into funding the bank. They simply took it away from the individuals in the form of a one-time tax imposed by the EC.

[Recursion]

25. No, this was capital controls put in place by the government

to keep a bank run from taking down the entire cypriot economy.

The money still belongs to that (very wealthy) account holder. He just can't use it for a while until everybody calms down.

[Recursion]

12. Same thing happens in the US when the FDIC shuts down a bank

If you have a shit-ton of money in that bank, you can lose everything above the FDIC insurance amount ($250K IIRC)

[jberryhill]

6. An available balance of 120K euro?

Hell yeah, I'd like to see that when I log into my bank.

I'll trade my bank account for that one right now. Get them my cell number.

[Ruby the Liberal]

22. That is a business account

and could be a payroll sweep that just got frozen. Likely not as the last trx was March 6 - but the visual is undoubtedly unnerving.

[jberryhill]

23. I'll take 120k euro in my business account, then

[Ruby the Liberal]

29. You do get that they froze withdrawals weeks ago

This is just the visual on the actual lockdown.

[jberryhill]

31. I do get why people have large deposits in Cyprus, yes

Yeah I know a guy whose family has interests in real estate development and various other businesses around the world, all organized and run from Cyprus. I ran into him at a cocktail party in Beijing last month, and he just couldn't quit yammering on about it. I imagine he's watching the sunset right about now from the deck of his house in Malibu, just all worked into a froth over it still.

Infuriating stuff.

[panader0]

7. I wish my account looked like that.

You are quite rich.

[BlueStreak]

11. You are missing the basic principle here.

They just reached out and took that money. It was completely extra-legal. The Banksters and their friends in the EC bank just did it.

And if they can get away with it there, it won't be very long before they can do the same thing here.

The fact that some people have more money in their bank account than you do is no reason to be blind to the crass criminality here.

[Ruby the Liberal]

24. "This image has been emailed to me twice now."

I don't live in Cyprus. Sorry that 3 sentence post contained too many concepts and/or too much information. Next time, I will me more succinct.

[Recursion]

9. OMG. "only" 120K Euro available? How will they eat?

Seriously. Cry me a river. Don't park your money in offshore tax dodges if you don't want this.

[BlueStreak]

13. YOU ARE MISSING THE POINT

This was an extra-legal money grab by the EC banksters. They didn't take anybody to court to have their money impounded. They simply said "We're imposing a tax. The money that you thought was yours is now ours."

And if they could do it in the EC, what makes you think Jamie Dimon and his pals won't come up with a way to do it here?

[Recursion]

14. A: you're missing the point too. B: you're confusing the tax with capital controls

A. Just like in the US, accounts are insured only up to a certain amount. You have more than that in the bank, you can lose it.

B. You're confusing the tax levied on accounts with the capital controls in place. That hold is not the tax, it's the Cypriot law that says you can't take all of your Euros out of the country.

[BlueStreak]

17. This was not insurance for a bank failure. It was a tax imposed by the EC.

[Recursion]

18. Sorry, I edited: you're confusing the tax with the capital controls. The tax was 9%

This is not the tax, which was 9%. These are the capital controls that are there to keep you from taking your money out of Cyprus. Again, only applicable above the insured amount.

[BlueStreak]

20. This article says it is 20%

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/03/18/business/cyprus-bank-levy-explainer

perhaps that isn't up to date.

[Ruby the Liberal]

26. It may not be current

The freeze went official on Friday as I recall. That is when this screen shot was taken - I got one copy Friday and another today both from some silver/gold hawk site.

[mainer]

37. Yeah, and the business's employees are gonna cry you a river when they can't get paid

This is a business account, out of which REAL PEOPLE will get paid their wages. So the business can't pay them, and THEY'RE going to be the ones suffering.

[msanthrope]

16. I'll take that bank balance, anytime. nt

[Marrah_G]

19. I'd be dancing with joy........

I can't imagine having that much available in my bank account. I can't imagine having a tenth of that available.

I'm sure it's a shock for the owners of those accounts though.

[Ruby the Liberal]

28. It is a business account per the screen shot

and if it is a sweep (payroll), may have a $0 balance 28 days of the month, with money sweeping in and then back out on paydays."

Even if it isn't - that is quite the haircut in lieu of "bank shares" as opposed to demand deposits.

[Skip Intro]

30. Think we'll see this kind of thing in the US ever? n/t

[PDJane]

33. Don't rule it out.

Last edited Sat May 4, 2013, 10:34 PM - Edit history (1)

The banking system in the US, last time I looked, accounted for 62% of the GDP. Under new rules, that could get to be a larger portion.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-20/u-s-banks-bigger-than-gdp-as-accounting-rift-masks-risk.html

It's not a pretty picture. There aren't assets to cover the inflated 'value' of the banks and their wall street cousins.

This is part of the problem with allowing the banks to be unregulated. You cannot trust a man who is working long hours, is part of a corporate culture of greed and short-term thinking to do the best for the client or the country.

It's a scary position, and the elites will have their debts written off, if Cyprus is any indication. Don't get complacent.

[BlueStreak]

49. And this sort of thing is EXACTLY why some people are pushing to break up "too big to fail" banks

And the fact that they have been spectacularly unsuccessful should be a pretty clear answer to the question "could it happen here?" Anybody who thinks it cannot is simply not paying attention. 2008 was not the least we will here from the banksters.

[loli phabay]

45. best to diversify your assets as much as possible, i like owning land so i buy it as a hedge

Invest in some businesses so you have an interest but not enough in any to get to burned and i like the rotating cd's and having multiple banks, oh and cash at hand.

[Newest Reality]

32. What is this thing

called a "bank account"???

[KoKo]

34. It's what we have until the BANK decides they need to take it to Pay Their Bills!

and then it's THEIR MONEY and NOT OURS...until they get the bail out and they will refund 1/4 of it back to us...(after we get lawyer and go after them) and we will be lucky if we have anything left after that.

Started in Cyprus for the Precedent of how it works and will morph around. They will say that this isn't how it will work...but without any Bankers in Jail that Count...after the Euro/Global Banking Downturn...then.. WHY should we believe them?

[Newest Reality]

36. Ah!

Well, that sounds dangerous.

Glad I don't have any money to put in one of those "bank accounts" because it sounds like asking a thief to hold your wallet.

Thanks.

[BlueStreak]

50. I absolutely believe that.

We saw "our banksters" raid the Fed for $16 freaking-TRILLION dollars. Who in their right mind would believe they are incapable of pulling a scam this this one?

We have to break up those "too big to fail" banks before they do this to American bank accounts.

And I agree with your last paragraph. Our situation is not exactly like the EC banking structure, but all these guys are in the same club. Will they raid our bank accounts as they did in Cyprus? Maybe not directly. But they will come up with other clever ways to accomplish the same result.

[hunter]

35. It ain't bad until your debit card is declined at the grocery outlet...

... and you have to put the six pack of cheap beer aside and pay for the rice and beans with the emergency five dollar bill you keep in your wallet.



Any more the only people who think society is fair are the people who haven't been screwed over yet. I've been screwed over but I've also learned that worrying about money will make me crazier than I already am. That realization comes when you have medical bills you can't pay. Joke around with the collection agents, cheerfully tell them you've got nothing, and they stop calling back.

I feel bad for the ordinary people in Cyprus, it was the tax dodging high rollers and organized criminals who turned their banks into sketchy money laundering machines, but it makes some sense to limit access to the money until the mess is cleaned up.

Otherwise the high rollers and organized criminals will go simply go somewhere else and screw over the ordinary people there too.

Everyone knows how to solve this. You tax the very wealthy until they are squealing like pigs, and you create money, jobs, and generous pensions and welfare benefits for ordinary people who have little or nothing.

The problem with money today is that all the money gets sucked up by the wealthy and powerful who shuffle it around in elaborate gaming schemes that contribute very little to the common good. This money does not "trickle down," instead it stagnates like a sick pond. The scum at the top blocks the light and the waters underneath become anaerobic and toxic.

[JaneyVee]

38. You have almost a million Euro's in your offshore bank account?

[Fumesucker]

39. Reading is fundamental n/t

[Ruby the Liberal]

41. *sigh*

3 sentences in the OP. Is it truly that complicated? Seriously - I need help with distilling this apparently.

[Skittles]

40. what kind of fool keeps that kind of money in a bank?

[Ruby the Liberal]

42. A business.

Money laundering or simply sweeping payroll.

Take yer pick.

[BlueStreak]

51. Thanks for trying, Ruby.

Last edited Sun May 5, 2013, 12:36 AM - Edit history (1)

And let us be very clear that not every business account in Cyprus is part of Putin's organized crime syndicate. The EC just came in and took EVERYBODY's money indiscriminately. The point you have been trying to explain (I think), is that this balance is not necessarily a large sum for an honest medium-sized business. What is this going to do to those businesses and the employees that depend on them?

And if it stands, what does this precedent mean for others all over the world?

[jberryhill]

43. Depends on how you got the money

Some folks get nosy.

[Safetykitten]

44. Silly stuff! For US it's "We withdrew money from your future to save corrupt banks"

Our bankers are not so fucking stupid. They will start to tell you your 401K is now in Treasury Bills.

[Psephos]

47. This. n/t