European leaders Monday hailed a last-minute bailout for Cyprus as an important step in defending their unified currency, but some officials and analysts questioned whether the deal raised new problems that could still threaten the survival of the euro.
The arrangement will grant Cyprus $13 billion in emergency loans from an international group of lenders but will force the country to shutter its second-largest bank and will push massive losses on large depositors there. The deal effectively wipes out Cyprus's appeal as an international banking haven but saves Europe from cutting off support to one of the 17 nations that use the euro currency.
Cypriot banks closed for a 10th day Monday and are not due to reopen until Thursday. With many depositors limited to withdrawing no more than $130 from an ATM, some analysts questioned whether the agreement would weaken faith in the currency union and whether a euro deposited in a Cypriot bank was worth as much as one deposited elsewhere.