Accounts with more than €100k in Cyprus to be hit with levy

It has been confirmed that savings accounts in Cyprus holding more than €100,000 will be hit by a controversial levy.

The deal was reached between the Cypriot government and the Troika this evening and will see a tax of 20% applied to all savings accounts above €100,000 at the Bank of Cyprus.

It will also see a 4% levy on all savings accounts of over €100,000 applied at all Cypriot banks.

The tax is part of a move aimed at raising nearly €6m in funds in order to gain access to a €10bn bailout from the EU and IMF.

The news comes as Eurozone Finance Ministers travel to Brussels for a meeting tomorrow in a bid to secure the bailout package for the debt stricken country and to prevent it exiting the single currency.