Roundup: Cyprus's lenders move to finalize incomplete bailout survey

Cyprus's international lenders are expected to move soon to complete an unfinished survey on progress made in implementing economic reforms, following parliament passing legislation regulating repossessions by the banks, Finance Minister Harris Georgiades said on Monday.

Georgiades said troika technocrats representing the European Commission, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund are expected to continue a survey early next week which was left unfinished in October 2014, after parliament suspended the repossessions legislation until its regulating legislation was approved.

The crucial legislation was passed at the end of a two-day parliamentary session on Saturday, during which a small socialist party changed sides in the final stage of the debate.

The completion of the troika survey, made under a 10-billion-euro (about 10.8 billion U.S. dollars) bailout memorandum in March 2013, will lead to the continuation of the bailout program and the release of more economic assistance.

An 86-million-euro tranche withheld by IMF for almost six months after the troika left Cyprus without concluding its mission will be included in the economic assistance.

Cyprus has already cashed about one-half of the 10-billion-euro assistance and will receive close to 5 billion euros more by the time its bailout program runs out in 10 months.

Completion of the survey by the troika also entitles Cyprus to draw up to 500 million euros from the European Central Bank's quantitative easing program.

"This will restore Cyprus's credibility, allowing the government to draw financing from international markets after it had been shut out since 2011," said Georgiades.

He added that this will allow Cyprus to get out of the bailout memorandum when it ends in February next year, avoiding a situation like that of Greece.

Georgiades said the passage of the framework legislation for repossessions is a milestone; it opens up the way for the banks to proceed with the restructuring of a mount of non-performing loans amounting to 27 billion euros.

"We are confident that we can fully restore our credibility and be able to normally obtain credit from the markets," Georgiades said.

Banking sources said Cyprus has to raise 2.5 billion euro to refinance sovereign debt, of which 1.5-billion-euros worth of investments come to maturity as early as July. (1 euro = 1.08 U.S. dollars) Endit