Hellenic Bank

Eurobank Cyprus, the local subsidiary of the Eurobank Group with a presence in six countries, has acquired the 17% stake in Hellenic Bank held by Pimco to become the local lender's biggest shareholder, controlling 46.5% of its shares. 

Over 90% of bank payments were made via internet and mobile banking in 2022, highlighting the dominance of electronic networks in daily transactions, which have almost completely replaced cash transactions at the counter, but also a significant part of transactions at ATMs.

The issues of the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund's divestment from Greek banks and the expansion of the Hercules program were at the center of the meeting held this week by Minister of National Economy Kostis Hatzidakis with the Hellenic Bank Association.

The new Hercules program will include three pending securitizations amounting to 3 billion euros.

Eurobank's deputy chief executive, managing director and head of international operations, Stavros Ioannou, has expressed the bank's desire to eventually gain full control of Hellenic Bank in Cyprus.

Hellenic Bank, Cyprus' second-largest lender, has reported a profit of 69.7 million euros for the first quarter of 2023, signaling a strong start to the year.

Wargaming Group, a Cypriot technology company, intends to remain a shareholder in Hellenic Bank, Cyprus' second largest lender.

Despite selling a 13.41% stake to Greek banking group Eurobank in early December, Wargaming says its goal now is to focus on what it says it "does best," which is creating good games.

Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras met on Thursday with Andrea Enria, chair of the Supervisory Board of the European Central Bank's Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM).

Enria met with Stournaras and other members of the Bank of Greece's administration, as well as with representatives of the managements of Greek banks and the Hellenic Bank Association.

Investing in Cypriot banks is becoming increasingly common. 

The progress they have made in terms of the nonperforming loan burden they have shed, their capital adequacy, which is characterized as good, the profits expected as interest rates rise, and the cost cuts they have implemented have transformed them into an appealing investment target.

The Greek government channeled 12.2 billion euros into the real economy in 2020 as part of its support measures and is currently working on designing new measures and updating others to help enterprises cope with the consequences of the pandemic crisis.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said on Thursday it will end its engagement in Cyprus at the end of this year after completing a six-year mandate in which it invested about 600 million euros. 

The end of the EBRD's mandate means the bank will stop investing in new projects on the island but will continue to manage an existing portfolio.