FURTHER signs emerged yesterday that Bank of Cyprus (BoC) has been reduced to a hapless hostage caught in crossfire between the government camp and the banking regulator.A legislative proposal spearheaded by DISY envisages increasing the number of board members at the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) from five to seven, two of whom will act as executive directors.The bill is co-sponsored by DISY’s Averof Neophytou, DIKO’s Nicholas Papadopoulos, the Greens’ George Perdikis and the European Party’s Demetris Syllouris.The point of contention is a clause stipulating that, though final decisions rest with the governor of the CBC, the latter must have the consent of the board’s majority... 7 comments

THE INTERIM board at the Bank of Cyprus (BoC) has pledged to take all necessary steps so the bank can swiftly move away from its current status of being under administration, the government said yesterday.The island’s largest lender has been undergoing restructuring since March, after a decision by eurozone finance ministers to impose losses on deposits of over €100,000. Under that arrangement, previous shareholders were wiped out, making large savers the new shareholders via a deposit-for-equity swap. The Central Bank, in its capacity as the ‘Resolution Authority’ for Cyprus’ two affected banks - BoC and Laiki - has appointed the members of the BoC’s transitional board of directors... 11 comments

 ONE DAY last October, a memory stick containing special software for deleting data was placed into a desktop computer at Bank of Cyprus (BoC).Within minutes, 28,000 files were erased, according to investigators who had wanted to copy the data for an official report into the collapse of the Cypriot banking system.The deleted files included emails sent and received in a crucial period in late 2009 and early 2010 when Bank of Cyprus spent billions of euros buying Greek bonds - at a time when international banks were cutting exposure to the heavily indebted Athens government... 27 comments

PLANS to appoint former House president Alexis Galanos interim chairman of the Bank of Cyprus (BoC) have hit a legal obstacle as such a move would be incompatible with him also being the mayor of Famagusta and chairman of the union of municipalities.The government wants an interim board appointed as soon as possible, to oversee the stricken lender’s restructuring following a Eurogroup decision to impose hefty losses on its uninsured depositors.Galanos agreed to take over the post but reports said a legal ruling stated it would be in conflict with him being a mayor and the head of the union of municipalities.Reports suggested the matter was discussed in a one-hour meeting between President Nicos Anastasiades and Central Bank Governor Panicos Demetriades... 7 comments

 THE viability of the Bank of Cyprus (BoC), the island’s biggest, is a national priority, new ruling DISY leader Averof Neophytou said yesterday, as he called for the immediate appointment of a board to oversee the lender’s restructuring following a Eurogroup decision to impose hefty losses on its uninsured depositors.The Cypriot economy’s salvation goes through the rescue of BoC, Neophytou said.“Everyone must understand this. The new BoC, after the merger with Laiki, has a local share that exceeds 60 per cent,” Neophytou said.The majority of businesses were BoC customers, he said, adding that the absence of a leadership at the lender had cost the economy a lot... 8 comments

BANK of Cyprus (BoC) will keep its Romanian operations closed for two more weeks as it seeks a buyer for them under a reorganisation forced by the bailout deal.A one-week freeze on the Romanian operations was already imposed by the Central Bank of Cyprus on April 1. BoC will keep the Romanian operations suspended until April 22, the lender said. "This prolongation is needed in order to conduct the negotiations for a sale of BoC (Romania), negotiations which start on Monday, April 8 with the banks which expressed their interest in purchasing BoC," it said in a statement... 4 comments

THE former CEO of the Bank of Cyprus yesterday accused the previous administration and the Central Bank governor of destroying the island’s biggest lender in a bid to cover themselves for the island’s economic woes.Breaking his silence after nine months, Andreas Eliades, who resigned in July last year, claimed that certain circles, inside and outside BoC, not only failed to join forces but they undermined every effort to tackle the crisis.“Unfortunately, developments confirmed that it was all part of a well-devised plan to break up the entire banking sector and especially the Bank of Cyprus, which was in good financial condition at the time,” Eliades said in an article published by financial portal Stockwatch... 5 comments

AUTHORITIES have struck a deal with troika late on Thursday not to write off current Bank of Cyprus (BoC) shares but to impose a write-down instead. The agreement provides for the replacement of the word “write off” with the word “write-down” in accordance with the bank resolution framework, the Cyprus News Agency said. The Eurogroup had decided on Monday that current shareholders will lose their shares without compensation and ownership of BoC will fall to uninsured depositors who will see around 40 per cent of their cash go towards rescuing the lender. The Church of Cyprus, a large shareholder in BoC, yesterday secured an injunction halting the decision... 5 comments

THE GOVERNMENT yesterday ran to put out the fire it accused the Central Bank of starting over the future of the Bank of Cyprus (BoC), highlighting the growing rift between the presidential palace and the CB governor.  A short Central Bank announcement on the appointment of a special administrator for the BoC yesterday morning sparked all-out panic among Bank of Cyprus employees that the island’s largest lender awaited the same fate as Laiki (Popular) Bank - a wind down.  Within hours, hundreds of distraught BoC employees gathered outside the Bank of Cyprus’ headquarters in Nicosia before moving their demonstration to the neighbouring Central Bank building, shouting for the resignation of CB governor Panicos Demetriades... 29 comments

THERE were mixed reports last night concerning the island’s bailout, with one report suggesting a deal had been struck while another said Cyprus and international lenders were not even close to an agreement.There was no official confirmation of either report by the time the Cyprus Mail went to print.Earlier, Reuters reported Cyprus had conceded to a one-off levy on deposits over €100,000 to satisfy European partners and seal an 11th-hour bailout deal to avert financial collapse.Quoting an unnamed senior government official, Reuters said Nicosia had agreed with EU/IMF lenders on a 20 per cent levy over and above €100,000 at No. 1 lender Bank of Cyprus, and four per cent on deposits over the same level at other banks... 22 comments