Banks in Cyprus open at 12:00 GST. People crowd the doors to access their savings for the first time in twelve days (Image from Twitter/@willgoodbody)

"The stability of financial markets and the banking system in Cyprus constitutes a matter of overriding public interest,” the European Commission said on Thursday. The Cyprus Central Bank expects 10% of capital to be withdrawn once banks open. Already, a high security aircraft has delivered at least 5 billion euros in cash to satiate the expected re-opening demand. Cypriot officials have been engulfed in a balancing act between appeasing the populace and salvaging its banking industry by securing a bailout package from the EU. The first EU bailout plan was met with stark opposition, and forced the island’s banking sector to essentially shut down while officials scurried to find a solution.

On Monday, the final provisions were made to the bailout conditions and the Cyprus government handed down the EU mandate to shut down the Cyprus Popular Bank (known as Laiki), and to heavily tax uninsured depositors at Bank of Cyprus, to raise money for the 10 billion euro ($12.9 billion) bailout. Moody’s has lowered Cyprus’ credit rating to ‘Caa2,’ explaining that the country’s risk of exiting the euro zone has increased. The outlook for Cypriot government bonds rating remains ‘negative.’ According to the international ratings agency’s report, the restructuring of the country’s two largest banks and impending capital controls increase the chances Cyprus will have to exit the euro zone. Earlier this week, Fitch placed Cyprus on a ‘negative watch,’ deeming the country’s ceiling to be a ‘B’ level. There are over 64 billion euros deposited in Cyprus. The Athens Stock Exchange index dropped 4 percent Wednesday, and has dropped over 12 percent since the banks closed on March 16.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange remains closed. The capital regulations will not apply to new money deposited after March 27, international transactions, and diplomatic affairs. Meanwhile the team from the troika of lenders – the International Monetary Fund, European Union and European Central Bank is in Cyprus and working on technical details of the bailout program for the troubled island. They are determining how much the IMF contributes to the package and the final decision won't be arrived at before the end of April, an IMF spokesperson told reporters on Thursday. "We expect the work of that mission to conclude in early April. After that our executive board will need to discuss the possible financing arrangement for Cyprus, so I would therefore not expect a final decision on a financial package from the IMF before the end of April," Rice said.