He tells us his suppliers there are worried about a run on the banks.
Branches were replenished with cash overnight and police were deployed amid fears of a run on the banks.
But it seems the damage has already been done: a run on the banks now looking increasingly likely.
CNN: Cyprus deposit tax 'overnight robbery,' says businessman
Both the government of President Eduardo Duhalde and the IMF want to prevent a run on the banks.
The biggest threat is that some event sparks a run on the banks - in either Greece or Spain.
Transactions: There would be controls on bank transactions to stop a run on the banks with money being taken out of Cyprus.
Outside the euro, the Greek people have been told, there would be a run on the banks, exchange controls, bankruptcy and hyperinflation.
As leaders prepared to tax bank deposits in order to prevent a default, citizens panicked and caused a run on the banks.
There are fears that a Greek exit could trigger a run on the banks - not only there but in other Eurozone countries.
Strict capital controls - unprecedented for the eurozone - are in force in Cyprus, limiting cash withdrawals to prevent a run on the banks.
Many fear a run on the banks, causing the country to be forced out of the euro - heralding in turn the return of the drachma.
And the scariest thing, I think, I've seen yet, was what happened to IndyMac in the summer, in July, when you had a run on the banks.
Mr Buiter acknowledges that Britain has access to currency swap lines from the world's biggest central banks, which would help it prevent a run on the banks.
But the government, fearing a run on the banks, believes that it is the only way to maintain stability and proceed with an orderly liquidation of insolvent banks.
It is true that Mr Obama's solution to the recession spending public money in order to stimulate demand and trying to prevent a run on the banks is supported by most economists.
There is very little chance that politicians would ever choose to use the model they developed in Cyprus in a country like Italy or Spain, where a run on the banks would have such profound implications.
They are currently sitting back and watching a damaging run on the banks unfold.
These demands amounted to a virtual run on the banks and helped to bring down Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers.
The next day, to halt a run on the country's banks, the central bank imposed restrictions on withdrawals.
After a week on the run, Moat was discovered armed with a shotgun on the banks of the River Coquet at about 1900 BST on Friday.
But the Cypriot parliament rejected the bailout offer due to public outrage over the levy, prompting fears of a run on the country's banks, which have been closed since March 16, and officials went back to the drawing board.
Over the past few months, we have observed, through the borrowings at the ECB, a growing silent run on European banks in the at-risk countries (Spain, Italy).
FORBES: Rebellion Against Austerity From Greece To Washington
Some economists even fear a run on Vietnamese banks in the absence of robust measures to shore up the country's financial sector.
That triggered a run on Uruguay's banks, and a plunge in the currency.
If investors stop fearing the worst-case scenario a run on European banks it would remove a lot of anxiety from the market.
There are other facts, but suffice it to say that the run on the banks and eroding confidence led to a reduction in market liquidity, and the stock market was en route to a decent of nearly 50%.
In 1931, as the Austrian bank Creditanstalt collapsed, pulling down the banks of Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland, a run on the German currency forced it off the Gold Standard in May, then the British Labour government struggled to maintain its currency peg - imposing austerity onto its own voters as the price.
They are struggling to put in place capital controls to prevent a bank run when the banks reopen, possibly on Thursday.
应用推荐