What is Cyprus and Why Care?

What and where is a tiny island called Cyprus and why should we care?
Long ago and far away there was a very old Austrian bank named the Imperial Royal Privileged Austrian Credit-Institute for Commerce and Industry. In Vienna where the bank was based, it was known as "The Creditanstalt." It had been founded in 1855, by the ancient Rothschild family and it became the largest bank of Austria-Hungary. On May 11th 1931, The Creditanstalt declared bankruptcy! This event, in a far off land, in the early twentieth century, resulted in a global financial crisis and ultimately the bank failures of America's Great Depression.

For more information read Moessner, Richhild; Allen, William A. (December 2010). "Banking crises and the international monetary system in the Great Depression and now" (PDF). BIS Working Papers (Bank for International Settlements). ISSN 10200959. Retrieved 2011-07-25.