I guess the Reuters stylebook uses “tapping” instead of “looting” or “stealing from.” This, in addition to the usage of “tapping home equity,” which is really incurrence of debt based on expectations of stable or growing asset prices and sale liquidity and future income for debt service.
The plan to nationalize semi-state pension funds has, however, met with resistance, particularly from Germany which made clear that tapping pensions could be even more painful for ordinary Cypriots than a deposit levy.
via The PJ Tatler » Cyprus Depositor Haircut: 25% Off the Top for the Rich.