Last Updated : 19 March 2013 at 13:40 IST
Do you know any Petroleum Transfer Engineer (PTE)?
You see him regularly at your nearest petrol pump where you pull up and command a fill. The person at the petrol pump aka PTE would 'engineer' the 'transfer' of the said quantity of 'petrol' to your vehicle and may occasionally exchange pleasantry. Now you know PTE!
Now, you would also be interested in knowing two other euphemistic phrases. One of them is of recent origin and the other predates the second world war and post-dates the Great Depression.
I would start off with the recent one. It is called solidarity levy:
Solidarity levy is a one-time proposed fee on the deposits of bank accounts in Cyprus. If you have a deposit to the tune of 100,000 Euros in any bank in Cyprus and if the said proposal being considered by the lawmakers in Cyprus comes into law, would exact 6750 Euros from your account once and for all. If you have deposits above 100,000 Euros, the figure may climb to 9900 Euros.
In return, you would get the shares of the bank which you are helping to bail out. It does not matter your bread is earned by the sweat of your brows, you would lose your money just for the sake of you having deposited it with some bank hoping it is safe and would earn you some decent interest. What a pity!
The Cypriot law makers are about to vote on this solidarity levy today. And the icing on the cake is a bank holiday proclaimed until Thursday so that people do not panic and a bank run does not take place. What an idea!
Now, go back in time: 1935...Italy! The streets were filled with people and a few of them sported a steel wrist band with following words engraved on it: 'Gold for the Fatherland'.
It meant, Benetto Mussolini had just patriotically and with your consent had your gold and was trying to solve the problem of recession. The collected jewellery and bullion were turned into gold bars and distributed to national banks.
While I am unable to verify, if the fascist ruler's initiative was truly rooted on a 'voluntary clause', the levy on bank deposits aka the daylight robbery by Cyprus officials in a democratic nation in the name of patriotism and protection of nation is highly unsettling and provides for least comfort.
Even if that be the least painful option.
See, everybody knows of gold confiscation order proclaimed by Roosevelt way back in 1933 at the heights of depression.
“It is noteworthy how 3 out of the 5 acts of gold confiscation (US, Italian, German, Australian and Britain) happened in the decade following the Great Depression of 1929. Also, the red line between the different confiscations is that the governments were in desperate need of money OR were in a state of destroying their own currency. It proves the fact that desperate governments are willing to go very far to make up their dire financial situations.” writes Gold Silver Worlds in an article.
Needless to say, Cyprus needs tons of cash. They have opted for the bail in package so that they could secure a bail out from international lenders to the tune of 10 billion Euros. Now, irrespective of their success in arriving at a consensus on levy, Cyprus would continue to see bank runs.
“The lack of return on deposits along with the reality of the previously uncharted risk of deposit seizures, a bank run that is starting in Cyprus will spread across the eurozone. Greeks, Spaniards, and Italians who have not already put their money under the mattress will rush to ATMs to pull out remaining cash.”
“These countries have similar risks to their local banks that can trigger similar reactions to Cypriot bondholders. Withdrawals of more deposits will put strain on the capital levels of these banks which adversely affect the solvency of periphery banks. Insolvency of periphery banks will increase credit risk of banks in the core European countries that have loans tied to the periphery, and contagion goes out further from there.” writes Nicholas Pardini in Seeking Alpha.
So, maturing of two conditions cannot be ruled out here: lack of money and a destruction of currency. What are you waiting for?
Find a euphemism for gold confiscation. They may even run a contest, you know!
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