Cyprus's finance minister on Wednesday dismissed suggestions the island may be a candidate for a bailout, saying its financing needs were minimal and had almost been met for the year. Financial website Stockwatch quoted Charilaos Stavrakis as saying Cyprus had an outstanding refinancing balance of 150 million euros this year, of which 60 million was met on Wednesday with revolving credit secured from a Russian bank.
Opposition parties have been increasingly critical of late that delays in economic reforms and a spike in bond yields on secondary markets could shut Cyprus out of international financial markets and force the island to follow euro zone peers Greece, Ireland and Portugal and seek an international bailout. Cyprus had gross financing needs of 2.4 billion euros in 2012, of which 61 percent was held by domestic lenders expected to participate in its refinancing, Stavrakis said.