Cyprus secures bailout from eurozone, IMF

BRUSSELS A senior official says the 17-nation eurozone and the International Monetary Fund have reached agreement on a bailout package for Cyprus.

The official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of the official announcement early Saturday, said the deal on the rescue loan package was agreed after almost ten hours of negotiations.

The official did not immediately provide details on the agreement.

The bailout was expected to total at least euro10 billion ($13 billion). In return for the assistance Cyprus was expected to agree to shrink its troubled banking sector, raise taxes and privatize state assets.

The bailout deal keeps the tiny east Mediterranean island nation from a bankruptcy that could have rekindled the region's debt crisis.