Finance ministers from the European Union reached an agreement early this morning regarding terms for failing banks in the euro region. The new rules are intended to shield taxpayers, who have extended approximately €1.6 trillion in support since the 2008 financial crisis, from saddling the cost of bank bailouts, shifting liability instead to creditors and depositors. Under the new rules, beginning in 2018, shareholders would assume losses before unsecured creditors and depositors, with exemptions for insured deposits less than €100,000, as well as select individuals and small companies. A Familiar Precedent When depositors in Cyprus faced levies up to 10% …