Cyprus banks stay under lockdown

• They will remain shut till Thursday to avert a run on deposits
• On Monday, Cyprus struck a deal for $13-billion EU bailout
• Deal with EU involves huge levies on deposits over €1 lakh

Nicosia (AFP): Cypriots woke up on Tuesday to find banks under lockdown for an 11th day after authorities reversed course and kept them closed to prevent a run on deposits following the island's bailout. All lenders had been due to open on Tuesday, but the Central Bank announcement overnight that they would now all remain shut until Thursday. There have been fears that the banks could be drained of cash when they reopen as frightened investors try to withdraw their deposits. President Nicos Anastasiades said in a televised address to the nation that Cypriots would face further capital controls, without specifying what they were. Cyprus secured a last-minute deal in Brussels in the early hours of on Monday for a $13 billion bailout that helped it avert bankruptcy. The deal involves depositors in the two biggest banks -many of them Russian- paying huge levies on deposits over 100,000 euros. It also effectively shuts down Laiki, the island's second-largest lender also known as Popular Bank.