Bank governor disagreed with the 'bail-in' of Cyprus

Οutgoing governor of Cyprus' central bank Panicos Demetriades has said for the first time that he had disagreed with the IMF's assumptions on the island's 'bail-in'.

The "bail-in" occurred last March after IMF debt sustainability analysis determined the country could not afford debt exceeding 100 percent of its GDP.

Demetriades, who steps down in early April, said that in hindsight, data shows that the IMF could have used a higher benchmark of debt to GDP. Αnd this would have limited the bail-in.  Had lenders used a benchmark of 120 percent, an additional 3.6 billion euros could have been made available, restricting  the bail-in of depositors to one bank instead of two.

He also told Reuters in an interview that the IMF was "challenged" on the matter, but "never moved from their position".

This, he added, would have limited the shock to confidence and would have made it easier for Cyprus to recover.