Bank of Cyprus

Bank of Cyprus Public Company Ltd
Τράπεζα Κύπρου Δημόσια Εταιρεία Λιμιτεδ

Native name	Τράπεζα Κύπρου Δημόσια Εταιρεία Λτδ
Type	Publicly traded limited company
Traded as	CSE: BOCY, Athex: BOC
Industry	Banking, Financial services
Founded	1899
Headquarters	Strovolos, Nicosia, Cyprus
Number of locations	262 branches (Q4 2014)
Area served	Cyprus, UK, Guernsey, Russia, Romania
Key people	Josef Ackermann (Chairman) Wilbur Ross (Vice Chairman) John Hourican (CEO)
Products	Retail and business banking, Credit cards, mortgage loans, corporate banking, factoring, insurance, brokerage,private banking, wealth management, Investment management,investment banking.
Revenue	€ 1.177 billion (Q4 2014)[1]
Operating income	€967 million (Q4 2014)[1]
Profit	-€261 million (Q4 2014)[1]
Total assets	€26.8 billion (Q4 2014)[1]
Total equity	€3.4 billion (Q4 2014)[1] Core Tier 1 capital = 13.4% (Fully loaded Basel III)
Number of employees	6,726 (Q4 2014)[1]
Subsidiaries	Uniastrum Bank General Insurances Cyprus Eurolife
Website	www.bankofcyprus.com

Bank of Cyprus (Greek: Τράπεζα Κύπρου) is a major Cypriot financial institution. In terms of market capitalisation, of 1.85 billion Euro on 27 April 2015, it is the country's biggest bank. As at June 2014, the bank held a 25.5% share of the Cypriot deposit market (Euro 13.2 Billion) and a 37.3% share of the Cypriot loan market (Euro 21.2 Billion), making it the largest bank in Cyprus. The Bank of Cyprus Group employs 6,726 staff worldwide and 4,339 in Cyprus.

The Group currently operates through a total of 262 branches/business offices, of which 130 operate in Cyprus, four in the United Kingdom, one in the Channel Islands, 126 are in Russia especially in Moscow and St. Petersburg, where the subsidiary Uniastrum Bank is active, ^[2] one in Romania. The group has representative offices in Russia, Ukraine and China.

The shares of the bank are listed on the Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE). The Bank is the largest listed company on the CSE in terms of market capitalization. Since October 8, 2007 the Bank of Cyprus has been part of the Cyprus 10 Index, which comprises the 10 largest companies in Cyprus. The Bank of Cyprus is also listed on the Athens Exchange and had been part of the FTSE/Athex Large Cap index from 9 October 2006 until March 2013.^[3] The four largest shareholders as at December 2014 are Cyprus Popular Bank Public Co Ltd, with a holding of 9,624%, Renova Group, with a holding of 5,47%, TD Asset Management, with a holding of 5,232% and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, with a holding of 5,021%. All except the Cyprus Popular Bank have a seat on the board of directors.

The bank adopted as its emblem the ancient Cypriot coin bearing the inscription ΚΟΙΝΟ ΚΥΠΡΙΩΝ ("Common to all Cypriots").

History^[4]

• 1899 On January 1, 1899, a group of progressive and visionary Cypriots led by Ioannis Economides, a significant figure in financial and social circles, founded the "Nicosia Savings Bank" or "Nicosia Depository" («Ταμιευτήριο η Λευκωσία»). This is the first Cypriot bank; all the other banks in Cyprus are foreign-owned.

• 1912 The "Nicosia Savings Bank" became a public company and changed its name to Bank of Cyprus (BoC), three years after the its shareholders had applied to the High Commissioner in 1909.

• 1930 The BoC incorporated as a limited company.

• 1943 The BoC amalgamated with Famagusta Bank and Larnaca Bank (est. 1926).

• 1944 The BoC acquired the Melissa Bank, Paphos, (est. 1924). The Mortgage Bank of Cyprus was established.

• 1945 BoC merged with the Cyprus Savings Bank (Kypriakon Tomieftiron), which had been established in Nicosia in 1908.

• 1953 BoC merged with Paphos Popular Bank (Paphos Laiki Bank) (est. 1924).

• 1955 BoC opened its first branch abroad when it opened in London to serve the Cypriot community there.

• 1960 BoC established a subsidiary, Bank of Cyprus (London) Ltd.: Xeros, Morphou and Zodhia (Nicosia District), Golden Sands, Kato Varosha, Kennedy Avenue, Democratias Avenue, Evagoras Avenue and Oceania (Famagusta Town), Yialousa, Rizokarpaso and Lysi (Famagusta District), and Kyrenia, Karavas and Lapithos branches (Kyrenia District).

• 1982 BoC acquired Standard Chartered Bank's Cypriot operations. (The then Chartered Bank had bought the Ionian Bank's Cypriot operations in 1957.) BoC also opened a representative office in Greece.

• 1986 BoC opened a representative office in Australia.

• 1991 BoC established its first branch in Greece. Kolonaki branch was located at the corner of Vasilissis Sophias Avenue and Sekeri Street, and also boasted a Business Banking Centre and the bank's treasury. In the summer of 2009, this and Mitropoleos Street branches were merged to form the new Syntagma Square branch, which retains branch code 001.

• 1995 BoC opened a representative office in South Africa, and a branch in Heraklion, Crete.

• 1996 BoC established Bank of Cyprus (Channel Islands) in Guernsey, and a representative office in Toronto, Canada, located in the heart of Greektown in Toronto to serve mainly the Greek-Cypriot community.

• A subsidiary company, Cyprus Leasing S.A., was established in Greece to deal with leasing activities. It is now the second largest of its kind in Greece. In Cyprus, leasing activities are carried out by a dedicated department of the BoC itself rather than a focused subsidiary.

• 1998 BoC established representative offices in New York and Moscow, and then another in Bucharest, Romania.

• 2000 BoC established a subsidiary in Australia, the country with the world's largest Greek and Cypriot community. The community, which numbers around 600,000 people, is concentrated in Melbourne and Sydney. BOC had long had a presence in the Australian market through its representative offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane. BoC also opened a representative office in Bucharest.

BoC bid for Interbank in New York for about $43 million. Interbank was 78% owned by Greek businessman Dimitris Kontominas, and the remaining equity was dispersed among three other shareholders. With four branches in New York, including the Astoria, Queens area where there is a strong Greek presence, the bank catered to the Greek American community. The U.S. Federal Reserve withheld its approval and bid expired.

• 2004 BoC merged its UK branch with its subsidiary Bank of Cyprus (London) Ltd. The combined business is known as "Bank of Cyprus UK".

• 2005 BoC opened its Pallini branch in eastern Athens, thereby reaching 100 branches in Greece.

• 2007 On 8 October, BoC announced that it had opened a branch in Moscow, making it the first Cypriot bank to have banking operations in Russia. In the same year, the opening of two new branches in Athens (Haidari and Spata) meant that the branches in Greece outnumbered those in Cyprus.

• 2008 BoC purchased 80% of Uniastrum, the 9th largest bank in Russia, for US$576 million.^[5] Uniastrum Bank had over 220 branches throughout Russia and continued to operate under its own name, which however was linked with that of the Bank of Cyprus Group. Just at that time funds under Uniastrum management went bankrupt. Investors lost US$100 million.

• 2008 BoC acquired 97% of the share capital of AvtoZAZBank in Ukraine, which operated through 26 branches and 18 seasonal cash offices located in Ukraine's four main regions. The bank traded under the Bank of Cyprus name.

• 2010 The Bank of Cyprus decided to establish a banking unit in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), in the Emirate of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. It also established a representative office in India. In Cyprus, Ayios Lazaros branch in Larnaca closed, due to the forthcoming demolition of the building housing it. Despite the harsh economic downturn in Greece, the network there continues to grow, with the opening of 20 branches throughout Greece, with 10 those to be located in Greater Athens, five in Salonica, and five in other areas.

• 2011 Bank of Cyprus sold Bank of Cyprus Australia to Bendigo and Adelaide Bank. The former Bank of Cyprus Australia is now known as Delphi Bank.

• 2012 Bank of Cyprus UK became a subsidiary, regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Under pressure from the Central Bank of Cyprus, CEO Andreas Eliades and Deputy CEO Yiannis Pehlivanides resigned as Bank of Cyprus could not reach by private means the 9% Core Tier 1 capital by 30 June 2012 that the European Banking Authority had required. Eliades's replacement was Yiannis Kypri. Later Chairman Theodoros Aristodemou resigned and was replaced by Andreas Artemi. The bank was also forced to re-consider its strategy of rapid international expansion.

• 2012–2013 Due to the harsh economic downturn in both Cyprus and Greece, the Bank of Cyprus began downsizing its network in Greece by closing branches, with the greater Athens area most affected (closures as at March 2013 were the branches at Omonia Square, Phidippides Street, America Square, Gyzi, Tavros, Petralona, Kessariani, Nea Ionia, Yerakas, Spata, Peania, Drapetsona, Ayios Ierotheos and Keratea). Three branches were closed in Salonica (Nikis Street, Stavros and Ionia), one in Patra (Acrotiriou Street, leaving the Corinth Street and Ayea branches in operation), one in Heraclion, Crete (62 Martyrs Avenue), Asklipiou Street in Trikala, which was merged with the town's other branch at 28 October Street, the Corfu Harbour branch was merged with the Corfu Town branch, Ialyssos branch on the island of Rhodes was absorbed by the Rhodes Town branch, while the towns of Alexandria in northern Greece and Loutraki became devoid of Bank of Cyprus branches altogether. In most cases, the ATMs of the branches were either retained on site or transferred to nearby premises to allow former customers some form of access to their accounts. In addition to downsizing the network, the bank reduced its staff by 300 by way of voluntary redundancy, but aimed to further reduce its number of branches first to 110 from 166, and then closing all of its smaller branches with up to five staff, maintaining only a small number of branches in key locations.

• On 26 March 2013 the Greek branches of the bank, along with those of CPB Bank (the Greek arm of the now defunct Laiki Bank) and Hellenic Bank, were sold to Piraeus Bank. Unlike other banks in the Piraeus Bank Group (e.g. Geniki Bank), which retained for a while it's corporate identity, the "Bank of Cyprus" brand was replaced in the ex-Bank of Cyprus branches by the Piraeus Bank corporate identity.

• On 29 March 2013 the loan business (advances) of Cyprus Popular Bank Public Co Ltd (Laiki UK), pursuant to a legal decree put in place by the Cypriot authorities, was transferred to Bank of Cyprus Public Co Ltd (Bank of Cyprus)

• 2013 The good (Cypriot) parts of Cyprus Popular Bank were merged into the new Bank of Cyprus. On 27 March 2013 the board and CEO were replaced. A Special Administrator was put in place (Dinos Christophides) for 4 months to oversee the merger with the good parts of Cyprus Popular Bank. A new interim board (with Dr Sophocles Michaeilides as Chairman) and interim CEO (Christos Sorotos) were put in place for 3 months, to replace the Special Administrator to lead the back to a new Annual General Meeting on 10 September 2013 and to oversee the "bail in" of depositors and to restructure and downsize the new bank. Staff salaries were cut up to 30% and a voluntary retirement scheme was agreed with the bank workers' union. The branch network in Cyprus was also rationalised, as were the head office functions of the two merged banks. A new CEO John Hourican took the helm. with Dr Christis Hasapis as Chairman.

• 2014 The bank sold off non-core assets and has thus sold its stake in the Romanian Banca Transilvania and the Ukrainian bank was also sold. After a 1 billion Euro increase in capital a new board and shareholders took the helm in November 2014 led by Josef Ackermann and Wilbur Ross.

• 2015 On the 26 January 2015 The bank authorised Bank of Cyprus UK to administer debt on their behalf for all ex Laiki UK (Cyprus Popular Bank Public Co Ltd) customers. The Russian subsidiary Uniastrum Bank is also to be sold, as well as the last remaining Romanian Branch, so the bank will focus only on its two key markets: Cyprus and the United Kingdom.

Cultural Foundation

The bank operates the "Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation", which it established in 1984. It claims its purpose is to "assist in the rescue of the island's cultural heritage, which has been pillaged or stolen by the Turkish forces from the occupied areas, and to promote the Hellenic culture of Cyprus at a professional and scholarly level".^[6] It has various collections of Cypriot artifacts, such as ancient coins, old maps of the island, art pertaining to the island and rare documents.

Awards

In 2008 the Bank of Cyprus was a recipient of a Ruban d'Honneur for Growth Strategy of the Year Award, one of the European Business Awards.^[7]

Recent UK history

In recent years the bank in the UK has developed into a more focused business bank, supporting its lending with a range of savings products. As part of this strategy the bank has invested in its telephone and online banking services and closed a number of its retail branches, whilst opening dedicated business offices. Current locations are as follows:

• Central London (Charlotte Street) – corporate and high-net-worth banking for UK and overseas customers
• North London (Southgate) – business banking, along with customer service, counter service and administrative support
• Birmingham (Sutton Coldfield) – business banking
• South London (Croydon) – business banking

Business banking customers can also access branch counter services through the bank's relationship with HSBC, whilst all personal and business customers can service the majority of their routine banking needs through postal, telephone and online banking services.

Oncology Center

The Bank also operates, in concert with the Republic of Cyprus, the BOC Oncology Center. The agreement provided for the bank's giving the money to build the center on land given by the government and the appropriation of the operating budget by the government.

Controversy

Bank of Cyprus (Romania) announced in mid-December 2009 that it had purchased 9.7 per cent of TLV's (Banca Transilvania) shares for EUR 58M, and in May 2010 expressed interest in taking over 20 per cent of the bank's stock. DIICOT, the body that investigates organized crime and terrorism, charged the head of Banca Transilvania's administration council, Horia Ciorcila, and the head of Bank of Cyprus (Romania), Georgios Christofourou, with stock market manipulation and money laundering in this transaction.^[8] DIICOT also charged a former vice-president of the administration council or Banca Transilvania, Claudiu Silaghi, and Bank of Cyprus employees Anastasios Isaakidis, along with four other individuals. Bank of Cyprus (Romania) denied any wrongdoing. The Bucharest Tribunal acquitted Ciorcila and Christofourou on 4 July 2011, as did the Bucharest Court of Appeal on 27 June 2012. On 2 July 2014, the Romanian High Court of Justice (http://www.scj.ro/dosare.asp?view=detalii&id=300000000339790) rejected the second appeal made by DIICOT, as ungrounded. Consequently, the acquittal decisions issued by the Bucharest Tribunal (2011) and Court of Appeal (2012), have been maintained, confirming the full acquittal of all the defendants. The decision of the Romanian High Court of Justice is final.

Deposit tax and bailout or bailin

According to a recent blog by Paul Krugman, the decision imposed by EU finance ministers to force depositors in Cyprus to take a loss (bail in), in order to help fund an International Monetary Fund and euro zone bailout(bail-in in the case of Bank of Cyprus: with 47.5% of uninsured depositors, above 100,000 Euro, contributing to the bank's recapitalization), on their deposits may potentially cause a bank run in other EU countries. Depositors in Spain and Italy and elsewhere may become concerned that they will also lose their funds and withdraw ahead of any such impositions. Other economists at leading banks, including Morgan Stanley and Citigroup, have voiced similar concerns.

References

External links

• Official website
• Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation Official Website
• Bank of Cyprus Oncology Center Official Website

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