ATHENS, November 23 (RIA Novosti) – The Cypriot government and the trio of international lenders have come to an agreement on a much-needed bailout loan, the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) reported on Friday.
No details of the agreement have been released so far.
The troika of international lenders comprising the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, is likely to demand economic reform and severe austerity measures in return for the loan.
The deal makes Cyprus the fifth Eurozone state that resorted to financial support from international lenders, after Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain.
Cyprus officially applied to the European Union and the IMF for financial aid in late June but the island nation and creditors failed to agree on the amount of loan cash needed or the austerity measures it needs to put in place.
On Thursday, the mission of the three international lenders left the island nation after ten days of regular talks that yielded no final accords.
Cypriot Finance Minister Vasos Shiarly said the country might need a bailout loan of up to 17 billion euro (almost $22 billion). According to the IMF, the island nation’s estimated 2012 GDP stood at $24 bullion.
Fitch Ratings downgraded on Wednesday Cyprus`s long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Rating (IDRs) to BB- from BB+, outlook negative.
