Inquiry faults execs, minister for Cypriot bank's demise

An inquiry into the demise of Cyprus's Cooperative bank on Wednesday faulted senior executives for bad judgment, inaction and ineptitude in dealing with a mountain of bad loans, while blaming the finance minister for failing to take corrective actions.

The inquiry's 800-page report recommended that police initiate possible criminal probes on some top executives, including the CEO, over 'suspicious' loan write-offs and wasteful spending.

"Their (executives) responsibility for erroneous decisions that were taken is massive," the three-member inquiry said.

It also pointed to Finance Minister Harris Georgiades's "heavy burden of responsibility" for not firing executives and for the bank's "mistaken course" in efforts to have it return to private hands.

The inquiry equated Georgiades's responsibility to those of the "main stakeholder in a private company that...