Bank of Cyprus marks 125th anniversary

Bank of Cyprus celebrated its 125th anniversary with an event that was attended by President Nikos Christodoulides and a number of key officials of the Cypriot political and business scene.

Addressing the event, President Christodoulides said that the effort to restore the country's reputation and credibility abroad is a top priority for the government and nothing will stop this effort.

He underlined at the same time that “only in thus will we be able to become a destination for quality investments with added value, which will create quality jobs”.

The President called on Bank of Cyprus to stand by the government's side in this effort to work “together for this common goal”.

At the same time, President Christodoulides he urged the bank not to forget that the “Cypriot society paid a high price in 2013 with the well-known events to support our banks” in a reference to the 2013 financial crisis that also hit the Cypriot banking sector.

“I am sure that in the framework of your organization's corporate responsibility, which I had the opportunity to see both as Minister of Foreign Affairs and as President of the Republic of Cyprus, you will continue to assist the great effort to support households and businesses, especially those in real need,” he stressed.

In his address at the event, which took place at the Bank of Cyprus headquarters in Nicosia, the President assured that the government approaches “Bank of Cyprus and financial institutions as partners in the great effort we are making to promote Cyprus as a centre for professional services, for economic growth, for attracting quality investments that will create new quality jobs and above all for improving the standard of living of our citizens.”

He added that “an undeniable fact is the improvement and consolidation of our country's banking system and the environment in general, following the crisis of the previous decade”. However, he continued, “the challenges we have to face, especially the challenges for a small state with a mixed economy, in a region of particular geostrategic importance, where we do not often see good news, is something that we should constantly bear in mind in this changing regional system and we have to learn from the mistakes of the past to be clearly wiser and clearly more effective.”

Moreover, in his address at the event, Bank of Cyprus Group Chairman Takis Arapoglou said that the bank's history has had many important milestones, while “today it continues to give a dynamic present and a promising future”. Arapoglou said that the “Bank of Cyprus has evolved, supporting innovation, while always maintaining its core values of integrity, reliability, professionalism and cooperation”, adding that through the very turbulent waters of the 21st century, the bank has emerged into the new era with determination, stronger than ever and relying on the hard work and dedication of its employees”.

Bank of Cyprus CEO, Panicos Nikolaou, said that “the Bank's imprint on the modern history of the country is strong and its contribution at critical periods and milestones has been significant.” He said, among other things, that corporate responsibility is in the bank's DNA and that the culmination of Bank of Cyprus' social contribution is the establishment of the bank's Oncology Centre in 1998.