Estonian banks profit from Greek crisis

The debt crisis which has crippled Greece for the past four years and which is now affecting Cypriot banks has "a surprising consequence," notes Estonian weekly Eesti Ekspress. It is notably "Russians living in Cyprus [who] are afraid to leave their savings on the island and [who] are moving it to Estonia," the paper says, adding that —

Since the beginning of the year, bank deposits have increased by 11.2% over all. Those belonging to Estonians rose by 7.8% while the number of those opened by foreigners increased by 28.2%. Bank accounts for foreign businesses jumped by 34%. Estonian banks appreciate this because it makes them less dependent on their parent companies in the Northern [Scandinavian] countries.

The Russians "fear that the euro will be replaced by the drachma [...] a less stable currency," explains to the paper Aivar Rehe, CEO of Sampo Pank, the Estonian branch of Danske Bank. According to Eesti Ekspress, if, as seems to be the case, Cyprus requests financial aid from the European Union, this would pose a moral problem because a significant part of that aid, earmarked for Cypriot banks heavily exposed in Greece, would be used to guarantee the deposits of wealthy Russians.