Many questions about the role of the ECB during the crisis of March of 2013 still remain unanswered. Did the ECB play a constructive role or did it put pressure on the Cypriot government through the emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) mechanism? Under the rules of the Eurosystem, ELA can only be provided by national central banks to solvent banks.
So, what was the situation in March 2013? The Central Bank of Cyprus had been providing ELA to the two largest banks, which the central bank, as the supervisor, had deemed solvent.