By William James LONDON (Reuters) - The cost of protecting Scottish savers would prove difficult to bear if the country broke away from the rest of the UK, a study by the Treasury said on Monday. The findings come in the latest paper from the British government on how independence would impact the country. On Sunday the Treasury said an independent Scotland would have a huge financial sector relative to its economy, leaving it vulnerable to a Cyprus-style banking crisis. ...

BERLIN (AP) — Engineering a financial bailout for Cyprus in March was such a chaotic process that top European officials say it is time to rethink how the region manages its crisis — and who should be involved.

By Michele Kambas NICOSIA (Reuters) - The IMF said on Friday that risks for Cyprus were "unusually high" given its weak banking sector and economy and the island's full adoption of an economic austerity plan was imperative. The island's 17.5 billion euro economy faced risks from the uncertain impact of the crisis in its banking sector and the possibility that its economic contraction could be deeper than projected, the IMF said in a staff report. "Given substantial risks to the outlook and debt sustainability, there is no room for implementation slippages," it said. ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday he saw a good opportunity for progress towards ending the division of Cyprus, a move that could further the exploitation of natural gas and oil in the eastern Mediterranean. The island has been divided since a Greek Cypriot coup was followed by a Turkish invasion of the north in 1974. Turkey keeps some 30,000 troops in the north and is the only nation to recognize the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund's executive board approved a $1.3 billion, three-year loan to Cyprus on Wednesday, part of a larger international bailout to help the Mediterranean country avoid defaulting on its debt. But IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said Cyprus's bailout was subject to "substantial risks," as the economy is likely to contract for the next two years. "The macroeconomic outlook is subject to high uncertainty and risks to the program are substantial," Lagarde said in a statement. "There is no room for implementation slippages. ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The IMF's executive board approved a $1.3 billion, three-year loan to Cyprus on Wednesday, part of a larger international bailout to help the Mediterranean country avoid defaulting on its debt. Cyprus had to comply with certain conditions - including winding down its second-largest bank and imposing losses on large depositors - in order to receive the funds, which total 10 billion euros ($13 billion). The approval of the IMF's board means Cyprus immediately gets $110.7 million. ...