Anger at a deal aimed at saving Cyprus from bankruptcy spilled into the streets yesterday with thousands of students and finance workers demanding answers after the Government said banks would remain shut for two more days and details of strict capital control measures emerged.
The central bank Governor, Panicos Demetriades, stressed that "superhuman" efforts were being made to open Cypriot banks today as he sought to quell fears that the nation's largest lender, the Bank of Cyprus, was about to be shut down.
Its chairman offered to quit yesterday and hundreds of its employees marched to the central bank building to protest against potential job losses.
The chairman's offer was later rejected by the bank's board.
"We are scared," one employee who gave her name as Anthoulla told Reuters news agency. "We were also so proud of the Bank of Cyprus. We worked with a lot of love, not just for the money." About 3000 secondary school students also protested outside Parliament in Nicosia.