The European Central Bank issued an ultimatum to Cyprus on Thursday saying it would stop providing the Cypriot banks with liquidity assistance unless the small island state agrees to bailout terms by Monday. The ECB informed the Cypriot government that the transfer of emergency funds will continue only until Monday, March 25. According to the statement released by the ECB on Thursday, after Monday’s deadline, “Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) could only be considered if an EU/IMF programme is in place that would ensure the solvency of the concerned banks.” According to reports the country’s two largest banks are entirely reliant on the Emergency Lending Assistance programme provided by the European Central Bank.