[00:52.04]Greek media have published a list of loans written off by banks at the heart of the financial crisis in Cyprus.
[00:58.55]The Bank of Cyprus, Laiki and Hellenic Bank apparently forgave loans of millions of euros to companies, local authorities and politicians.
[01:07.69]Here’s Chloe Hadjimatheou.
[01:09.69]A list has been published featuring names from all of Cyprus’s main parties apart from the Social Democrats and the Ecologists.
[01:16.65]The Bank of Cyprus is said to have written off a 2.8m-euro loan to a hotel with ties to the communist Progressive Party, which was in power until last month.
[01:26.29]And a prominent member of President Anastasiades’s Democratic Rally party is said to have had more than 100,000-euro worth of loans wiped out.
[01:35.25]Savers with more than 100,000 euros in the banks currently face losses under a levy imposed in return for an EU bailout.
[01:43.12]Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Cyprus has eased some of their financial restrictions imposed after the country received its bailout.
[01:50.98]Debit and credit cards can be used normally for domestic payments,
[01:54.68]but strict controls will remain on international transfers to stop money flowing out of the country.
[02:00.37]Talks about forming a coalition government in Italy have again broken up without agreement.
[02:05.98]The president, Giorgio Napolitano, who’s been chairing the negotiations, said it was now time to pause for reflection.