CYPRUS 40% TAX IMPOSED ON ACCOUNTS €100,000+

★BREAKING NEWS★ Cyprus reached a deal early Monday to receive funds from its European and international lenders to prop up its ailing banking sector and prevent its exit from the euro zonThe cash-strapped island nation agreed a deal with the European Central Bank (ECB), the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund — collectively known as the Troika — to secure 10 billion euros ($13 billion) of aid, the reports said, citing European Union officials. Reuters reported that the proposed agreement would include the closure of the country's second-largest lender, Popular Bank of Cyprus or "Laiki Bank," with deposits under €100,000 to be shifted to the larger Bank of Cyprus. Deposits over €100,000 at Laiki would be frozen and used to pay off debts, it said. Separately, Agence France-Presse reported that, as part of the agreement, the country will impose a 40% haircut on Bank of Cyprus depositors holding more than 100,000 euros in their accounts. The proposal then went before the European Union's finance ministers, known as the Eurogroup, who gave their approval, according to Reuters and Bloomberg. The Eurogroup was due to make a statement shortly. Investors were concerned that Cyprus wouldn't be able to come up with a plan acceptable to the Troika before a Monday night funding deadline set last week by the ECB. In the worst case, many analysts said, Cyprus would become the first nation to leave the euro currency bloc.