Panayiotis Rougalas
Bank of Cyprus CEO Panicos Nicolaou described Cyprus's decision to extend the suspension of divestments as "tragic."
Nicolaou was asked to comment on the recent decision by the House of Representatives to extend the measure of divestment suspension and said that we are exposing the country without actually helping borrowers when he presented the financial results for the first nine months of 2022, which showed a loss of €9 million.
"We, as a bank, are willing and have an obligation to assist vulnerable borrowers. At the moment, we have legislation that allows, for example, companies with a turnover of up to 750 thousand euros per year and non-performing loans, to file for bankruptcy "He stated.
Nicolaou also criticized banks for going through the process of explaining such decisions to the investment community, which he said harmed the country's credibility.
He stated that the country requires a stable legal framework and that companies with non-performing loans do not even present their balance sheet data.
