An Analyst Explained The Real Reason Wall Street Was So Caught Off Guard By Cyprus
One emerging markets analyst we spoke to told us that the sell-side was caught relatively off-guard by the whole affair.
Why, though?
It's simple.
According to the analyst, Cyprus has fallen through the cracks in research coverage on Wall Street ever since the country joined the euro in 2008.
Emerging markets desks don't really care about Cyprus anymore because it's part of the euro.
Euro zone desks don't really care about Cyprus because it's such a tiny country – and, up to now, it's been relatively insignificant in the euro crisis drama that has unfolded in recent years.
So, last weekend, when the news broke, there was a bit of a mad scramble on the sell-side to figure out what was going on, and not everyone was necessarily able to come up with a good answer.