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Banking changes in Cyprus are rolling full steam ahead in 2025, with Ancoria Bank now seeing a major shift in its ownership. Entrepreneur and co-founder of XM, Kostas Kleanthous, has reached an agreement to buy more than 50% of Ancoria Bank, making him the new majority shareholder. Alongside him, another XM shareholder, Charalambos Panagiotou, is also boosting his share in the bank. Until recently, the two only held less than 10% combined, but now they are stepping in to take a much bigger piece of the pie. Meanwhile, Ancoria’s long-time Swedish major shareholder, Sievert Larsson, will stay on, but with a much smaller stake.
According to Kathimerini's Panayiotis Rougalas, this is a personal investment for Kleanthous and Panagiotou and has nothing to do with their other company, the fintech and brokerage firm XM. The Central Bank of Cyprus has been informed about the agreement, but final approval is still pending. Deals like this can't move forward without the green light from banking regulators.
Once the approvals go through, Kleanthous will own 50-60% of Ancoria Bank, Panagiotou about 20%, and Larsson will hold on to about 20%. This officially shifts control of Ancoria Bank into Cypriot hands.
The Plan for Ancoria Bank:
The goal behind this move is to build a truly Cypriot, independent, and traditional commercial bank. The new owners want Ancoria to focus on small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and regular consumers, banking on the idea that SMEs are the "backbone" of Cyprus' economy. They plan to stick to the old-school model of personalized service, flexibility, transparency, and security, something they feel is missing in today's more corporate and digital banking world.
It's too early to say exactly what changes will happen inside the bank, but word is they’re planning to hire more staff to support their new vision.
Financial Snapshot:
As for how Ancoria Bank has been doing recently:
- In the first half of 2024, it posted a profit of €4.2 million, a drop compared to €8.3 million for all of 2023.
- Total loans stood at around €322.2 million by June 2024, up slightly from the end of 2023.
- The Total Capital Ratio (TCR) was strong at 22.53%, and customer deposits reached €742.9 million.
- Its Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) was very healthy at 1,957%.
- Importantly, Ancoria’s loans are in good shape, with only 1.8% classed as non-performing, very low compared to many banks.
Ancoria Bank was founded after the 2013 financial crisis, meaning it didn’t inherit the baggage of bad loans like older banks in Cyprus did.
