Losses from the banking crisis. Cyprus prepares further payouts

Those who suffered losses during the 2013 banking crisis are to receive further partial support. Parliament unanimously approved the National Solidarity Fund budget for 2026, which anticipates approximately €28.7 million in expenditure. A program for 2027 is being prepared in parallel.

The platform was also announced to reopen to those who had not previously submitted an application. However, the budget approval does not mean a new application process will be launched. Those interested in assistance must await the official application deadlines and conditions.

Losses from the banking crisis and the fund's budget

The decision was made on Thursday, October 29. The National Solidarity Fund budget provides 50 million euros in revenue from state subsidies and about 28.7 million euros in expensesThe latter primarily includes benefits, but also the services of experts and advisors.

The Fund serves to partially replace the losses suffered by those affected by the bank restructuring in 2013. Assistance is provided to specific categories of depositors and holders of bank securities.

This is not an automatic refund of all lost funds. Eligibility and benefit amounts are determined by the program rules and the verification of the specific application.

Who will receive the money?

This year's spending covers several groups of beneficiaries. One of them is individuals whose cases remained unsettled after the first program.

This includes, among other things, approved applications where data confirmation was not completed or a bank account number was not provided. Previously, approximately 1,200 peoplewhose withdrawals could not be processed due to missing IBAN details.

It is also planned to settle accepted appeals and cases in which technical problems prevented the transfer of money.

A separate portion of the funds is planned for additional benefits for people who have already received assistance under the first program. Therefore, the entire €28.7 million should not be presented as the amount allocated to new applicants.

Another chance for people without an application

The Ministry of Finance has announced the reopening of the platform, also for individuals who did not participate in the initial recruitment process. Previous information indicated the end of October/beginning of November as the planned start date for this phase.

The collected applications are intended to help prepare the program for 2027. The final scope of support will depend on the adopted conditions and the state's financial capabilities.

It is necessary to distinguish between supplementing previous applications From accepting new applicationsActivating one platform function does not necessarily trigger the initiation of a second procedure.

The mere adoption of the fund's budget does not confirm that previously unregistered persons can now submit applications.

Thousands of people received partial support

In the first program, approximately 9,700 applications were submitted. Assistance was received by approximately 7160 people, and the payments amounted to approximately 71.3 million euros from the approved pool of 100 million euros.

These amounts are for the first program. They are not a comprehensive account of all losses incurred during the crisis, nor are they a precursor to future benefit levels.

The scale of the aid provided so far remains significantly smaller than the losses covered by the cited estimates, which amount to approximately €2 billion. Subsequent payments should therefore be treated as partial support, rather than a full offset to the effects of bank restructuring.

We will have to wait for the details of the 2027 program.

The approved budget covers 2026 and does not replace the rules for the future program. It also does not provide a basis for calculating how much a specific individual will receive in the next phase.

For beneficiaries with unsettled cases, the most important thing is to complete the required information. For others, it's a message specifying when and under what conditions they will be able to join the program.