European Central Bank Gives Ultimatum to Cyprus

BERLIN — Cyprus on Thursday received a stark ultimatum from the European Central Bank: The tiny island nation must find $7.5 billion to bolster its failing banks by Monday or see them collapse.

The announcement that the European Central Bank would withdraw emergency funding from Cyprus’s teetering banks if no bailout is in place by Monday gave urgency to the country’s scramble to find cash. It came as European leaders warned in the strongest terms yet Thursday that if Cyprus’s banks fail, problems could quickly spread to the other 16 nations that share the euro currency.

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