Cyprus: 4 Days 'Til Drop-Dead

If Cyprus doesn't have a deal in place by then, the ECB will not provide its banks the emergency liquidity assistance they need to continue to operate.

Earlier this week, the Cypriot parliament rejected a plan that would have recapitalized the country's banks by imposing a one-off tax on all depositors.

Since then the government has been scrambling to come up with the nearly 6 billion euros that the country must supply to save its banks.

Below the dotted line is the press release the ECB just put out, wherein the central bank says that assistance will be cut off unless there's a deal.

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21 March 2013 - Governing Council decision on Emergency Liquidity Assistance requested by the Central Bank of Cyprus

The Governing Council of the European Central Bank decided to maintain the current level of Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) until Monday, 25 March 2013.

Thereafter, Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) could only be considered if an EU/IMF programme is in place that would ensure the solvency of the concerned banks.