Cyprus Exempts Capital Controls on 2 Lebanese Banks

Cyprus authorities have dropped controls on money transfers and withdrawals for international clients of four foreign banks with branches or subsidiaries in the bailed-out country.

The Finance Ministry said in a statement Friday that the exemption extends to the Cyprus branches of Lebanon's BLOM Bank, the Lebanese and Gulf Bank, Russia's OJSC Promsvyazbank and Russian Commercial Bank.

However, limits which include a daily withdrawal cap of 300 euros still apply to the banks' domestic clients.

Cyprus imposed the limits in March to prevent a bank run after it agreed on a 23 billion euro ($30 billion) bailout deal with its euro partners and the International Monetary Fund.

The deal's terms demand that large depositors in the country's two biggest banks take substantial losses on their savings.