Cyprus president optimistic on 1st bailout review
Cyprus president 'cautiously optimistic' about 1st debt assessment for bailed-out country
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) -- Cyprus' president says he's "cautiously optimistic" international creditors will certify that the country is living up to the terms of its multibillion euro bailout deal.
Officials from the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund are currently wrapping up their first assessment after Cyprus agreed in March on a 23 billion-euro ($30.3 billion) financial rescue package.
The deal forced losses on large depositors in the country's two biggest lenders and saw restrictions on money transfers and withdrawals put in place to head off a bank run.
President Nicos Anastasiades was speaking Friday after unveiling a scheme designed to ensure a "guaranteed minimum income" for low-wage earners and the jobless that won't drain state coffers. It comes into force in June next year.
