The Huffington Post Reuters | Posted: 03/24/2013 9:03 pm EDT | Updated: 03/24/2013 9:38 pm EDT
Protesters hold a banner that reads "Hands off Cyprus" during an anti-bailout rally outside European Union house in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Sunday, March 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
* Deal to shut Laiki bank, transfer insured deposits
* Clinched hours before Monday deadline to seal EU bailout
* Without deal banks faced collapse, possible euro zone exit
By Jan Strupczewski and Annika Breidthardt
BRUSSELS, March 25 (Reuters) - Cyprus clinched a last-ditch deal with international lenders on Monday for a 10 billion euro ($13 billion) bailout that will shut down its second largest bank and inflict heavy losses on uninsured depositors, including wealthy Russians.
The agreement emerged after fraught negotiations between President Nicos Anastasiades and heads of the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund - hours before a deadline to avert a collapse of the banking system.
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