Daily Press Review - 9/6/2020

In the press:

Hellenic Bank one of the best banks in Western Europe

Hellenic Bank has managed to secure a place amongst the best banks of Western Europe in the 27^th awards of the recognised magazine Global Finance, based in New York. The editors of the magazine evaluated 150 banks in Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America, awarding those that managed to stand out in more than 12 categories. The magazine presented the winners in its May issue, while a relevant publication was also posted on the digital edition of the magazine, GFMag.com. This summer, the magazine will select the best bank in the world, out of the banks that stood out in each continent. It should be noted that in order to choose the banks, the magazine took into account how the banks understand the needs of their clients in difficult markets and the results they have achieved, building a strong foundation for the future. Moreover, a series of objective criteria were taken into account, such as the banks’ profitability, asset development, geographic span, strategic relationships, innovation and development of new businesses and products. The winners in this years’ Best Banks 2020 by Global Finance will be honoured at a ceremony that will take place on the side-lines of the annual IMF and World Bank meetings in Washington, on 17 October 2020. Despite the new situation in the international and Cypriot economy following the Covid-19 pandemic, Hellenic Bank is still well-equipped, has a strong capital position and high liquidity. This condition allows it to contribute to the effort of supporting the Cypriot society and economy, continuing its investment in innovative products, digital transformation and educating clients in new digital tools, aiming for a smooth transition into the new era.

 

Borrowers need to first go to the bank

The Financial Ombudsman, following the decision of the Supreme Court not to accept the referral of the law amending the foreclosures framework by the President, is preparing internally in order to be able to carry out the new responsibility of examining the borrowers’ complaints about the failure of the bank to comply with the Central Bank’s code on loan restructurings. The financial ombudsman, Pavlos Ioannou, speaking to Politis Radio 107.6 show, “Show me the money”, said that what remains now is the publication of the law in the Official Government Gazette. During the discussion at the House, he had stressed that the Service will implement any bill that is voted into law. This is common sense, he said. “We are preparing our system to implement the law, this means that we are preparing internal guidelines for the implementation of the law, the legal processes that we will be following, when the appeals and complaints will come to us. We are prepared to a large extent and we will complete the process, after the publication of the law”, explained Mr Ioannou. As it comes to what the borrower needs to do, Mr Ioannou explained that the Financial Ombudsman Law need to also be implemented. “The requirements allowing the Ombudsman to take up a complaint need to be met i.e. the complaint needs to be submitted to the bank, which has either rejected it or hasn’t examined it and hasn’t replied to the interested party within a short deadline. Then, the interested party can file their complaint to the Ombudsman”, said Mr Ioannou. As it comes to the code of conduct of the Central Bank, the Ombudsman can examine complaints covered by the Code i.e. worth up to €1m.

 

The law on the borrowers’ capacity to appeal foreclosures

It should be reminded that the amendment of the basic law on foreclosures, provides borrowers with NPLs with the ability to file an appeal with the financial ombudsman, so that their complaints against the banks are examined, concerning, among others, overcharges and violations of the code of conduct of the Central Bank. If the ombudsman realises that there was a violation of the code by the bank, then the borrower will be allowed to appeal to the court, which will be issuing an order to suspend the foreclosure of the mortgaged home or professional home within the same day. Moreover, it includes an additional reason to appeal, in the case where the bank has refused to proceed or hasn’t proceeded with a loan restructuring process.

 

Land Department cautions over trapped buyers bill

The Land department views the extension of eligibility requirements for the protection of trapped property, as a negative development. At the same time, it expresses its reservations, warning that if the legislation changes, it will be abused. The Land Registry intervened in the matter, because of a DISY bill, which attempts to cover the gaps that were identified. The new bill aims to increase the protection provided to trapped buyers who submit a sales contract for a property, pursuant to a court order, so that these buyers are protected also in the cases where the order issued after 31 December 2019, based on an application that was filed to the court before 31 December 2019. According to DISY, with the amendment of the Transfer and Mortgage of Immovables Law, the implementation of orders relating to the protection of buyers was limited and as a result, only sales contracts that were submitted to the Land Department before 31 December 2014 or before 31 December 2019, following a court order based on the sale of Immovable Property Law. Because of the legal gaps, according to DISY, citizens who had filed applications to the court, lost the protection that the law provides to trapped property buyers. The Land Department warns that if there wasn’t a deadline, then the protection would be abused by various buyers who would want to take advantage of the bill.

 

Clash continues after the agreement

As much as the opposition and the government are trying to convince the public that their clash over state guarantees is over, the clash went on yesterday at the Plenary, during the otherwise unanimous approval of the complementary budget of €220m. The additional budget will be allocated for the provision of a one-off subsidy worth €40K – €50K to small businesses and the self-employed and the third phase of the stimulus schemes of the Ministry of Labour. The opposition parties and DISY accused each other about the failure to agree on the state guarantees scheme as well as the government’s new package to support the liquidity of businesses and the economy. Specifically, the parties of the opposition accused the government for being responsible for the delay of the measures, which as they supported, will not be as effective as the guarantees. They also supported that the government withdrew the bill in question in order to avoid being audited by the Auditor-General. They repeated the need to increase the one-off payment amount for businesses. AKEL MP, Aristos Damianou said that it’s a myth that the government has adopted the most generous package it could. It accused DISY that their party is afraid of transparency, stressing that “your first concern is the shareholders of the banks, while our own first concern is the people”. DIKO’s president Nicolas Papadopoulos supported that their party does not have an ideological inflexibility, stressing that they want to bring back state guarantees, because as he said, the new stimulus package is a mockery.

 

The president brought them back to earth

The government was adamant yesterday about the state’s difficulty to satisfy the demands of the employer associations and trade unions, during their meeting at the Presidential Palace. The day after for businesses, after the Government’s injection through the stimulus packages (which expires on 12 June), was discussed at the negotiating table under the auspices of the President and the Ministers of Labour and Finance. The businesspeople analysed their positions and suggestions about further supporting businesses, but the President himself took it upon himself to cut them off quite early this time, seeing as the demands for additional support were many and would have a great cost. The president, according to Phileleftheros sources, told the businesspeople that the state funds will not be able to handle a generous subsidy of all businesses and that clear and targeted solutions need to be found to support them. He warned them about their commitment to avoid lay-offs, while the employers associations have said that at this point, this risk has been prevented. However, the government officials didn’t table specific sectors of the economy that will need support, since OEV and KEVE supported the complete support of businesses based on the reduction of their turnover. This means that they suggested to continue supporting businesses based on the government schemes, but to a lesser extent. The employers associations suggested to implement quotas, depending on how much the sector has been affected. Something like this, would blow up the state’s funds, since the amounts that were given to support businesses were too high and the state would not be able to withstand the fiscal cost.

 

Tax relief for rents must be evidenced

The tax return in the case of rent reduction by the owner, will not only be limited to the rents receivable but will also cover lease payments and rights of use. The tax credit will apply for property owners who will voluntarily reduce the rents submitted by tenants. By granting tax incentives to owner, the government is attempting to balance out the impact of the coronavirus on tenants. With a circular, the Tax Department is giving clarifications regarding the way that the tax credit (tax return) will be implemented. The tax credit will that will be provided will concern the fiscal year 2020 and will be equal to 50% of the rent reduction, provided that a series of requirements is met. Specifically, the monthly rent reduction cannot be higher than 50% and smaller than 30% of the monthly rent and concerns a period of three months. In case where the rent reduction is over 50% and is for example at 70%, the tax return will stay at 50%. It should be noted that the rent reduction is evidenced through a written agreement between owner and tenant.

 

 

New programmes for SMEs

The programmes to support businesses, was one of the issues discussed at a teleconference between KEVE and the Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry, George Lakkotrypis. According to KEVE’s announcement, KEVE’s president Christodoulos Angastinioits stressed the importance of the ministry as the main business and development pillar of the government, ensuring the minister for the continuation of their constructive cooperation and support to KEVE, with a view to accelerate the modernisation and upgrade the Cypriot industries and businesses. At the meeting, he referred to the need to immediately announce the schemes to support businesses by the Ministry, to improve the timeframes of evaluations and the importance of new innovative and essential planning that will bring quick results. The Minister informed KEVE about the Ministry’s immediate plans to announce the stimulus schemes for businesses, about the relevant timeframes and the available budgets.

 

New loans drop in April

Total loans dropped in April 2020, compared with the previous month, while interest rates for mortgages and consumer loans were increased. Specifically, according to the information published by the Central Bank on Friday, in April 2020, total loans dropped, reaching €117.7m, compared with €281.7m the previous month. New consumer loans dropped to €5.1m in April 2020, compared with €13.6m in March 2020, while new mortgages dropped to €32m compared with €56.3m the previous month.

 

The crisis creates financial and political risks

The Cyprus Economic Society (CES), held a webinar under the title “Europe after the coronavirus crisis”. The discussion was held on 28 May 2020, with Maria Demertzi, (deputy director of the Brussels-based think tank, Bruegel) as the keynote speaker. As the keynote speaker said, “the coronavirus crisis creates financial and political risks for the years to come. The high debts and deficits will increase, and many member-states will be additionally pressured in terms of the viability of their debt. Unemployment could potentially increase and the return to normality will take longer than expected. This combination of economic and political risks, will test the economic and institutional resilience of the eurozone”. In his welcome address, Giannis Tirkides, director of the Cyprus Economic Society (CES), talked about the course of the eurozone, after the 2008 financial crisis, saying that it was extremely difficult and politically rough, adding that the integration process was halted and that now, after the coronavirus crisis, there is an opportunity to restart this process, as a necessary requirement for the successful continuation of its programme.

 

Ready to finance the restart of the economy

The banks possess the much-needed liquidity that businesses need. Besides, loans will be channelled through the banks, that will allow businesses to operate and produce income that will cover their losses and ideally return to a viable normality. Following the announcement of a new package of measures to support the economy by the government, the heads of the two biggest banks of the country, express their readiness to contribute to the recovery from the coronavirus crisis. Hellenic’s CEO, Ioannis Matsis, said that “we welcome the government’s announcements with great satisfaction, as the new package of targeted measures will be another tool in the collective effort to support businesses and households. As Hellenic Bank, we have the disposition, will and strong capital position and liquidity to continue supporting our viable customers and the resumption of the economy”. On his part, the CEO of BoC, Panicos Nicolaou says that “since the beginning of March, it was clear that our financial goal should have been to support jobs and household incomes. This is why we turn our attention to viable businesses, which need our help to accelerate their exit from the hiatus of the past few months. One of the biggest lessons of the crisis, is that the collective effort has a multiplier effect, compared with the individual actions of each body. This is why it’s important to reduce uncertainty in relation to the measures of the state. The businesses and banks can now implement their strategies”.

 

JP Morgan: a vote of confidence in Hellenic Bank and Cyprus

Hellenic Bank’s agreement with JP Morgan is strong proof that the significant steps made by Cypriot banks are recognised. The important changes and improvements made in the Cypriot banking system and the regulatory framework are confirmed by the cooperation of Hellenic Bank and JP Morgan, one of the oldest financial institutions of the USA, with a worldwide scope. The American giant has a history of 200 years, offering banking services internationally, while according to estimates, its assets are in excess of 2.6 trillion dollars. As it was recently announced, Hellenic Bank reached an agreement with the company, raising the total number of foreign banks that Hellenic is cooperating with, to three. Apart from JP Morgan, Hellenic Bank is also cooperating with the Bank of New York Mellon and Citibank. Admittedly, it is a significant development given the difficulties facing the Cypriot banks, because of the small number of partners they had to carry out dollar transactions. It’s no secrete that after 2013, the Cypriot banking system lived through conditions of isolation in international banking, with the negative publications that involved Cyprus in money laundering cases, making the situation even more difficult. However, these difficulties, especially as it comes to carrying out dollar transactions, seem to be now behind us. The significant changes that were put forward by the Cypriot banks to deal with money laundering phenomena, were recognised by Moneyval in its latest Evaluation Report as well as by all the supervisory bodies and authorities on both sides of the Atlantic. Hellenic’s agreement with JP Morgan is another strong proof that the important progress made by the Cypriot banks, were recognised also by American banks themselves. With this partnership, the Cypriot banking system has acquired another safety pillar as it comes to carrying out dollar transactions.

 

Correspondent banks

The much-anticipated account opening process with JP Morgan, through Bank of Cyprus and Hellenic Bank, was completed on Thursday. The Bank of Cyprus now has four dollar correspondent banks (JP Morgan, HSBC, Bank of New York Mellon και Citibank). This development marks the radical reversal of the previous climate, which can be explained by a vote of confidence of the regulatory authorities of the dollar. Until recently, there was great concern about correspondence in dollars, with the efforts intensifying so that correspondents aren’t further reduced, since this would be a great risk for Cyprus in general. This was also a result of Cyprus’ poor reputation. However, in cooperation with the Central Bank, the climate was reversed.

 

 

Credit card with just a phone call, free of charge, from home

The Cypriot banking sector has made great strides in the past few weeks, offering solutions for the completion of daily transactions, making visits to the physical branches of the banks, obsolete. Hellenic Bank, has taken a step further, turning the credit card into a multi-tool for payments and transactions, also making easier its issuance (with just a phone call). In fact, the dispatch of the PIN number is carried out through SMS, a digital solution that makes the service all the more friendly. Specifically, without using other digital tools and apps, the Hellenic Bank customer can cover 85% of their banking needs through POS machines, at all points of sales for goods and services and ATMs. The new modern ATMs also accept cheque deposits, while cash deposits are immediately credited to the customer’s account.

 

The recovery of the Cyprus economy

Opinion article by football coach Andreas Mouskallis, who says the 2008 financial crisis left its mark on the entire world. In our country, there were huge and quick developments. Banks collapsed, there was a haircut of deposits, a change of the shareholding structure at the Co-op and finally its sale to Hellenic Bank. Unemployment, reduction of salaries and benefits for employees, closure of many small and big businesses. For the duration of the Memorandum, the Cypriot economy and society was following the orders and directives of the infamous Troika. He argues that Cypriots had not managed to catch a break from this huge crisis, when the coronavirus hit. Cypriots are once again called to face this unprecedented pandemic, which threatens the health and life of the citizens and the world economy. At this point, he argues, good planning, generosity, cooperation, consent for the day after the crisis is needed, without the sword of Damocles of our European friends. We can handle the crisis on our own. He argues that the government needs to prioritise projects that will add value in the long-term, that create jobs and confidence. Such a project is the Larnaca port and marina development. The final agreement between the government and the consortium was signed on 12 February 2020. The author argues that a small delay can be justified by the pandemic, but he argues that any delay from this point on should be recorded as negligence that operates at the expense of the entire economy and the growth that we so anticipate and desire.

 

RCB a leader in e-commerce

Head of RCB’s Card Acceptance & Digital Payments Services Department, Harry Xenophontos explains how the Bank reacted to the call for social distancing and how the future of transactions will look like, after the return to normality. “RCB’s digital team will continue to adapt, develop and always be ready to ensure that its offered services are not affected during periods of crisis”, he says, adding that for RCB Bank, the crisis served as a test, and the result showed that it was very well-prepared as it comes to digital solutions”. The bank further “enhanced its e-commerce solutions and is now an important market player”.

 

International recognition for Bank of Cyprus

BoC was declared as the “Most Active Issuing Bank in Cyprus” by EBRD (European Bank of Reconstruction and Development). This important award, that the Bank has received for a third year in a row, highlights its successful participation in the Trade Facilitation Programme, confirming its contribution to business development, through its position as the biggest commercial bank of Cyprus, with the biggest market share.

 

Cdbbank invests in upgrading its digital infrastructure

Cdbbank proceeded with the upgrading of its digital infrastructure on multiple levels, with a view to actively support its clients amid the conditions that were created because of the Covid-19 pandemic and in order to cover their increased daily needs. Cdbbank, recognising that digital channels can play an important role in effectively servicing its customers, proceeded with enhancing its e-banking service, upgrading its current operations and introducing new ones. For example, the bank introduced, among other things, an automated payroll management service, as well as the possibility to carry out massive payments, even with different execution dates. Moreover, aiming to improve the banking service, cdbbank is planning to put forward additional operations within the current year.

 

On the hunt for Asian investment funds

Even though the coronavirus pandemic has frozen every business and investment activity, the investment funds sector maintains its dynamic in Cyprus. All the businesses as well as the organisations are trying to adapt their programmes to the new situation. Business trips will be left behind for a long time after the pandemic. Speaking to Phileleftheros, the chairman of the Cyprus Investment Funds Association (CIFA), Andreas Yiasemides, said that the funds will have a very significant role in the restart of the economy. Called to comment on whether the arrival of new investment funds was affected by the pandemic, Yiasemides said that “things went better than expected and there was a restrained flow of new funds in the previous period. No client has left, and most are on hold, trying to identify the opportunities”, he noted. According to Yiasemides, “we didn’t record a flight of investment funds from the country, in fact, there were new registrations, even though at a lower rate than last year”. At the same time, Cyprus has invested in growing the investment funds sector. Yiasemides believes that the investment funds sector will emerge as a winner from this crisis and Cyprus will have the ability to utilise this opportunity. This can be supported by the fact that funds under management have more than tripled over the past few years, exceeding €7.7b.

 

Challenges for international business

The inflow of foreign companies has dropped by 25.7%. A total of 3,193 companies were registered over the first four months of the year, while the latest information on April, demonstrates that there was a 60% drop. A total of 446 companies have been registered, compared to 1076 in this past month. The coronavirus pandemic has affected the entire business world, while combined with future insecurity and the tax exemptions promoted by Russia, an explosive mix is created. Speaking to Phileleftheros, the president of ICPAC’s International Business and Foreign Investment Committee, Maria Zavrou, said that in the past few months, because of the pandemic, it was difficult for the entire international scene and that there are challenges in all the economies of the world. Cyprus is also facing particular difficulties in its relations with Russia, because of the change in the Double Taxation Treaty, which is expected to be finalised in June. “We are negotiating for Cyprus to be differentiated with some other criteria, that will balance out the changes suggested by the Russian Federation. We believe that there will be a reduction of small Russian companies, which were created many years ago and now their cycle is ending and they will be forced to leave”, said Mrs Zavrou. At the same time she said that there are “expectations that we will attract, larger companies that we will essentially want to operate in Cyprus. The approach and strategy of Invest Cyprus and other relevant bodies, will have a key role to play.

 

An upgraded role for Economic Diplomacy

In an interview with Phileleftheros, the head of the Economic Diplomacy Unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Francis Lanitou supports that the current Covid-19 crisis and the challenges as well as the opportunities that it brings, confirm the significance of the attempt to determine a strategic exercise of Economic Diplomacy for the Republic of Cyprus. She highlights that in the new reality, in the post-coronavirus era, Economic Diplomacy – which among others, means promoting the “image” of the country –acquires an even more important role. She notes that the Foreign Ministry is assuming a more substantial and active role, based on the requirements of the current circumstances.  Because the Ministry, through the diplomatic missions of the Republic of Cyprus, can play a key role in promoting the entire “brand” of Cyprus and further enhance the efforts of all the basic components of the Cypriot economic/business ecosystem, aiming at steady and viable growth. She also stresses that the Cypriot Economic Diplomacy model is forward-looking and ambitious. She noted that the main pillars of the strategy which is under development, specific sectors that are internationally competitive could not be absent, such as auditing and legal services, tourism and shipping. However, the same goes for sectors with increasing extroversion and significant achievements, such as investment funds, scientific research, tertiary education or sectors with new prospects such as energy and innovation.

 

Perdikis calls for ad-hoc committee on PEP loans

With a letter to the chairman of the House Watchdog Committee, the President of the Cyprus Greens, Giorgos Perdikis is calling for the creation of an ad-hoc subcommittee, which will collect the Central Bank data on the NPLs of politically exposed persons. In his letter, he says that the Subcommittee will be made up of members of the House Watchdog Committee, which will handle the entire folder submitted by the head of the Central Bank to the House President, Demetris Syllouris that included information on the NPLs of PEPs. As he explains, all the parties will be represented in the subcommittee participating in the House Watchdog Committee and examine the information, while subsequently, it will submit a suggestion to the Committee on how to further handle the information (submission of more data, processing, publication etc.)

 

Balance between parties more fragile due to state guarantees bill

The next few months will be rather difficult for the government at the House, since following the state guarantees bill, there was a clear change of balance between the parties. Currently, it will be difficult to approve the government bills, since the government’s sole partner is DISY. The government’s other “informal partner” up until today, DIKO, doesn’t even want to hear that it will vote for a government bill, if its suggestions aren’t included. DIKO’s 10 MPs will act depending on the issue. Because of the vulnerable balance at the House, the government will open up to other parties and compromise in order to gain their support. Important bills are still pending at the house, such as the Local Administration and Civil Service reform and the Single Labour Inspection Service.

 

Transactions and cash withdrawals were up in May

Transactions in May were up by 20% compared with April. The easing of restrictive measures, led to an increase in consumption. At the same time, the cash withdrawn from ATMs in May were up by 25%, while online transactions through Cypriot cards dropped by 30%.

 

Subsidisation of 30-40% of salaries

The subsidisation of 60% of employers’ salaries by the state ends on 12 June. However, state support will continue until 12 October, but will be reduced, except for the tourism sector, which will most likely remain as is today. This is because the state doesn’t have the financial capacity to continue supporting salaries by 60% for another four months. The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Labour, are examining all the proposals of the employer associations and trade unions on the formula that needs to be implemented. Final decisions are expected on Friday. The most likely scenario is that salary subsidisation will be between 30-40%. At the same time, it seems that the turnover reduction of an organisation seems to be increasing. Now, for a company to be eligible for the Scheme, it needs to have suffered a 50% reduction in turnover.

 

No more stress about the dollar

A few years ago, the continuation of connecting the Cypriot banking system with the world outside of the Eurozone – namely the continuation of transactions in dollar via correspondent banks – was one of the biggest sources of stress for the banks’ managements and the supervisory authorities. This is now a thing of the past, following the opening of accounts by JP Morgan with Bank of Cyprus (BoC) and Hellenic Bank (HB). Now, BoC is cooperating with four banks (HSBC, JP Morgan, Bank of New York Mellon and Citibank), and HB with three (JP Morgan, Bank of New York Mellon and Citibank). Years of efforts preceded this development. It wasn’t too long ago that the two big banks were left with just one associate. Losing the ability to carry out transactions in dollar would have been catastrophic. The 2013 shock combined with the shadows hanging over the country when it comes to money-laundering,  had left the banks and Central Bank in a state of constant alarm. “It is a reversal of the climate and indeed a radical one, while behind this development there is a vote of confidence by the supervisory authorities of the dollar,” a bank source told Politis. The source said a huge effort was made in cooperation with the Central Bank to reverse the climate of distrust and restore Cyprus’ bad reputation when it comes to money-laundering rules. “This is good news for Cyprus,” the source said. The head of BoC’s Treasury division, Despina Kyriakidou, said: “This is an important achievement, not just for the bank, but Cyprus as a whole.” BoC believes that the recent developments are a result of its decision to interrupt its collaboration with 90% of its introducers, while in 2019, it ended or froze the accounts of 2,760 customers, and rejected 1,469 new customers due to their lack of compliance with money-laundering regulations. The Head of Communication and Public Relations at HB, George Sklavos, said that “the cooperation with JP Morgan is particularly important for the Cypriot banking system, but also Hellenic Bank, as it is a vote of confidence in the measures we have taken and the changes that have been promoted as part of the effort to combat money-laundering and ensure regulatory compliance”.

 

Hellenic Bank a member of the international organisation FCI

HB has received yet more significant international recognition, this time its Factoring division, as the bank has become a member of the FCI organisation. FCI counts around 400 members, who meet strict criterial of financial prosperity and high-level service. The members are based in 90n countries, offering a unique network for cooperation in international factoring.

 

Reduction of new loans granted in April

Total new loans granted in April 2020 dropped compared with the previous month, while there was an increase in interest rates for consumption and housing loans. According to data released by the Central Bank, total new loans in April dropped from €281.7m in March to €111.7m. New consumption loans dropped from €13.6m to €5.1m, while new housing loans dropped to €32.0, from €56.3m. New loans to non-financial companies for sums of up to €1m drooped from €30.9m to €18.3m, while new loans to non-financial companies for sums of over €1m dropped from €168.9m to €40.8m. According to the CBC, the interest rate for deposits of up to one-year for households increased marginally from 0.11% to 0.12%, while the same rate for non-financial companies dropped from 0.10% to 0.07%. As for the interest rate on consumption loans, it increased to 3.02% from 2.99%, while for housing loans, it increased to 2.12% from 2.10%.

 

Millions of funding to the big companies

The package of measures being promoted by the government has been tailored to suit the needs of the banks and the big businesses. The loans will be granted based on terms and criteria of the banks, which will receive funding of around €250m. Data from the Central Bank about the first loans that will be funded are indicative: for the business, 65.3% of the loans are over €1m. It is noted that in 2019, loans totalling €1.98b were granted (€436.3m of up to €1m and €1.54b of over €1m). So, Haravgi reports, if the same motif is followed, over 75% of the loans that will be granted with the government’s scheme will concern the very big businesses. For this year, the banks will receive around €48m as funding of the interest rate.

 

Peyia centre without a bank

A reader wonders whether the Republic’s supervisory authorities are aware that a certain bank decided to close all its out-of-town branches during the coronavirus pandemic, leading to dangerous gathering of large numbers of people in the remaining open banks on a daily basis. He says that in his case, the Peyia branch was closed, so he had to travel for half an hour to Paphos and back, and wait for hours in a queue. “Why hasn’t anyone reacted?” he wonders. The paper responds that there were reactions over the specific matter in Paphos, culminating in a meeting between the Mayor of Peyia, Marinos Lambrou, and DIKO member Chrysanthos Savvides. Savvides described the bank’s decision as an unfavourable development, while Lambrou said he was displeased about the bank’s stance, and called on its management to reconsider and avoid reducing its branches in Paphos. Phileleftheros says the reason for the bank’s decision to close branches is obvious: it wanted to reduce its operating costs and push customers to use online services; however, they mustn’t forget that some customers are not yet familiar with technology.

 

Bank of Cyprus extends the range of its digital options

As part of efforts to constantly upgrade and expand its digital offerings, Bank of Cyprus has partnered with Settle, a leading mobile payments app in Europe. Settle is an ideal mobile payments solution, allowing consumers and businesses alike to use their mobile phone to receive or make payments anywhere, anytime – all you need is a mobile phone number. With Settle you can split the bill with friends on a night out, share expenses with colleagues or friends, and get instant access to your Settle account. All this, and much more, are free of charge and work regardless of the bank where you keep your accounts. Users can also message and share video with friends as well as with businesses with whom they carry out transactions. At a time when consumers are constantly facing new digital challenges, Bank of Cyprus is always ready to provide straightforward and secure solutions for digital payments. Now, transactions are easier than ever, free and instantaneous.

 

Ad hoc committee for the serial

Green Party MP Yiorgos Perdikes has submitted a letter to the Chairman of the House Watchdog Committee, Zacharias Koulias, suggesting the creation of an ad hoc committee, which the Central Bank can submit the infamous list of Political Exposed Persons (PEPs) with NPLs to.

 

Covered over blank cheques

The Appeals Court has unanimously ratified a first-instance court ruling that acquitted a business couple of issuing blank cheques. The husband was the company’s director and his wife the office’s manager and secretary, appointed on 2 May 2012. She was also authorised to sign cheques on behalf of the company. Before resigning, the wife signed 10 cheques and locked them in a safe. The cheques were then used to pay off debt owed to the plaintiff. However, there was not sufficient capital to cover them and so they were returned unpaid. The plaintiff accused the couple of issuing blank cheques. However, the first-instance court acquitted them of this charge, and the decision was ratified by the Appeals Court.

 

Mastercard announces Fintech Express programme

Mastercard launches Fintech Express in Europe, a programme designed to facilitate emerging fintechs' launch and expansion. Leveraging the power of partnerships and Mastercard's expertise, technology, and global network, start-ups will now be able to focus on innovation that drives the digital economy.

 

Growth rate at 0.8% in first quarter of 2020, Statistical Service estimates

Cystat estimates that the growth rate of the Cyprus economy was at 0.8% in the first quarter of the year, following the seasonally adjusted GDP. The deceleration of the GDP growth rate was mainly due to the sectors of Hotels and Restaurants, Manufacturing, Arts and Entertainment, and Construction.

 

Development projects on hold

Development projects that had been included in the year’s budget are now being reassessed and many are expected to be put on hold, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. According to data from the State Treasury, over the period January-April, the implementation rate of the state development budget was 15%. Specifically, the state budget includes funds of €950.3m, while €143.9m was dispersed. For many of the projects, they haven’t even opened the tenders; and this is not expected to happen this year.

 

Blue Limassol Forum

On Friday 29 May, the Municipality of Limassol and the Department of Maritime Transport and Commerce at Frederick, held their first seminar entitled Blue Limassol. The even that was held under the auspices of the President of the Republic, Mr Nicos Anastasiades took place online and focused on the sustainable coastal and maritime environment. The interactive seminar gave the opportunity to the hundreds of participants to pose their many questions and concerns to the speakers and the members of the panel. The Blue Limassol seminar will be an annual event that was established this year by the Mayor of Limassol, Mr Nicos Nicolaides. In his address, the Mayor stressed that this seminar wishes to highlight the unique characteristics of Limassol as a trade and shipping centre and as an important coastal city and port of the South-eastern Mediterranean as well as improve the maritime and environmental conscience of the residents.

 

A vote of confidence to Cypriot shipping sector

As above, Phileleftheros reports that after the close cooperation of the relevant government bodies and the private shipping sector, Cyprus has been chosen as the suitable location (at the Limassol-Moni anchorage), by one of the biggest cruise lines in the world, to moor 6 state-of-the-art cruise ships, with the support of a local shipping service provider. As announced by the Deputy Ministry of Shipping, the majority of the cruse ships are one of the most advanced and friendly to the environment ships that were ever built. The high-tech ships, as well as the systems they use for their operation, are especially designed to meet the demands of the most strict environmental legislations and allows ships to cross the most environmentally protected waters in our planet like Alaska and Antarctica, the announcement stressed. According to the Deputy Ministry, hosting these ships will bring significant income to the Cyprus economy, in a period where because of the pandemic, there is decreased activity. The ships will be paying fees for the anchorage, will be ordering goods and services from local suppliers to support their crews, they will not have passengers and will be using local companies for the provision of technical support and assistance. “Cyprus have proved that through the common effort of the private and public sectors and the close cooperation that was achieved, our country managed to be chosen among many other European countries, to host these contemporary and state-of-the-art ships”, said the Ministry of Transport Yiannis Karousos. On her part, the Deputy Minister of Shipping, Natasa Pilides commented that “presence of these ships in Cyprus’ waters, allows us to prove the strong shipping infrastructure and supportive services we have and that we provide to shipping companies, giving us the opportunity to create partnerships for further business activities in the future”.

 

Paralimni Marina a huge attraction for the area

The Paralimni Marina will have 123 apartments and 2-4-bedroom villas, according to a relevant announcement. The pier and the park of the project, are expected to be a huge attraction for the area, the marina will have 300 berths, while a yacht club, cafes, restaurants, hospitality venues and health centre, will be exclusively available to residents. Rod Taylor, head of international new developments at Savills, the firm that took up the promotion of the Paralimni Marina, said that the marina will be a destination for local and foreign buyers. The design and choices that the potential buyers will have, in combination with the shops and entertainment venues, will be points of reference for future projects. Besides, Anthoulis Kountouris, the CEO of the Paralimni Marina, said he was satisfied with their cooperation with Savills, adding that their professionalism and specialised experience will add value to the project and expressed certainty that the marina, will offer a unique way of life to Protaras, one of the most beautiful shores of the Mediterranean sea.

 

Explorations south of Crete

Through leaks in the pro-government media, Turkey shows its intentions in the Eastern Mediterranean. The Kanuni drillship is preparing to sail into the waters south of Crete, in a zone that has been agreed upon between Turkey and Libya. At the same time, Ankara intends to develop a pipeline for the transfer of natural gas from the occupied areas to Turkey and then to Europe, as a response to the EastMed pipe that was agreed between Cyprus, Israel, Greece and Italy. According to reports of the pro-government daily Sabah, at the end of the year the third Turkish drillship Kanuni will start drilling in the waters off Libya at the end of the year. Sabah’s story reports that at this point, Kanuni, which Turkey acquired from the UK, is located at the port of Taşucu in Mersin, where it is being preserved and upgraded. The same sources report that the state petroleum company (TPAO) has submitted an application to the Directorate General for Mining and Petroleum (MAPEG) for the sea areas off Libya, where Kanuni will begin drilling at the end of the year.  Another Turkish newspaper, Yeni Şafak reports that very soon explorations will start in block 15 and 20, that are located beneath Crete. The explorations will be carried out by TPAO and according to Yeni Şafak, the Turkish President and the prime minister of Libya had discussed the matter during their meeting. The newspaper also publishes a relevant map. Yeni Şafak supports that Greece attempted to take over a maritime area of 39 thousand km2, which belong to Libya and goes against international law. It supports that part of Block 15, is part of Turkey’s EEZ and that Block 20 is part of the Libyan EEZ.

 

The late interest in the EEZ: Everyone is talking about it, but Greek governments have always feared it!

The article refers to how the Greek governments have always sidestepped the issue of the country’s EEZ, and only now have started talking about it a lot. Among other, it mentions that a recent statement by a US State Department representative – that the Turkey-Libya agreement is not only illegal, but it also causes massive problems in the Eastern Mediterranean – was positive for Greece. The representative also said: “We do not comment on countries’ maritime borders, but a memorandum cannot affect the rights and obligations of third countries, such as Greece.” The Americans suspect that the Turks also want to cast doubt over the two plots south-west of Crete (blocks 16 and 17), which border Libya and which Greece has conceded to ExxonMobil, Total and Hellenic Petroleum for exploration.

 

Arctic diesel leak is perhaps Putin’s "Exxon Valdez"

Russia's President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday declared a state of emergency after 20,000 tonnes of diesel oil leaked into a river within the Arctic Circle. The spill happened when a fuel tank at a power plant near the Siberian city of Norilsk collapsed on May 29. Greenpeace believes this incident is the worst oil leak in the Arctic and compares it to the “Exxon Valdez” accident in Alaska in 1989, where 287,000 tons of oil leaked from a tanker on the shores of Alaska. The Norilsk leak is clearly smaller; however, the location of the leak and toxicity of the fuel elevate the risk of an environmental disaster.

 

Large developments crushing the Akrotiri wetland

The wider Akrotiri Salt Lake area, and the wetland that surrounds it, which is one of the most important wetlands in Cyprus today, are being suffocated by growing huge construction and other business developments. Cyprus Natural Coastline Representative Klitos Papastylianou spoke to Haravgi and said that the problem in Akrotiri is a problem of fragmentation of the consequences, where a project’s consequences are not assessed in combination with the consequences that emerge from other projects in the same area. He explained that this means, “if for instance a casino license is submitted and the casino is the only one assessed, the consequences evaluation may find that there are significant consequences but are marginal. The development of the casino can thereby be completed, affecting the area, without significant bird species of the area abandoning it. At the same time however, we also know that the same company has filed for a land allotment between the casino and the Salt Lake”.

 

A matter of understaffing, not organisation

Nurses argue that state hospitals are crippled by staff shortages not due to lack of organisation, responding to the Health Minister who had recently argued the opposite. In its announcement, PASYNO expressed its regret over the Minister’s comments and even argued, “if the problem was due to lack of organisation, as the Minister suggests, then he would have to blame his own Ministry, which failed miserably in organising state hospitals for years, as well as OKYPY for also failing to make state hospitals autonomous”.

 

Counting nurses

Last Thursday’s meeting between OKYPY representatives and nursing services of the ministry of health, PASYNO-PASYDY, was insufficient and they are expected to continue the thorough process of recording the needs of state hospitals regarding nursing staff. The last meeting went on for about 8 hours, implementing the decision of the previous meeting held by the Minister of Health, where they decided to identify a number of nurses needed to cover the immediate and permanent needs. During Thursday’s meeting they recorded the needs of Hospitals in Nicosia, Limassol, Paphos, Polis Chrysochous and Kyperounta.

 

Waiting for doctors’ response

This week is very crucial in terms of the negotiations taking place between OKYPY and state doctors, about incentives that will be given to state specialty doctors with a view to reduce the gap between public and private sector. Doctors’ unions, with the proposal in hand, are expected to give their response within the week. The discussion seemed to be progressing in a positive manner, however, there was one hiccup in the interpretation of a point which involved the increase that OKYPY was offering to doctors, with the unions requesting further clarifications.

 

Hospital visits only by appointment

Visitation to state and private hospitals will have to be limited to those that are absolutely necessary, after having scheduled an appointment, according to the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health. “The spread of the virus is contained and the positive epidemiological image has allowed the easing of restrictive measures, so that everything gradually returns to normalcy”, said the relevant announcement. Special care must be given to vulnerable groups of the population, including patients who are hospitalised for serious disease or/and are vulnerable due to undergoing surgeries and/or treatments.

 

CyMA’s ethics committee has started meeting again

The Cyprus Medical Association’s Ethics Committee has resumed its frequent meetings, reassuring that the regulation and immediate resolution of any ethics issues regarding the practice of the medical profession are its top priorities. According to its announcement, “during its first meeting after lifting the restrictive measures, they reviewed several pending cases so as to fast-track their assessment, while it also investigated a series of new cases following complaints”.

 

Occasional smokers 4 times more at risk for cancer compared to non-smokers

Occasional smokers are 4 times more likely to die from cancer related to smoking compared to non-smokers, according to a new US study which shows that even occasional smoking has risks. Smokers who smoke daily are almost 5 times more likely to die from cancer compared to non-smokers, according to the same study. The researchers analysed data from 505,500 people in a period of 20 years. Daily smokers were classified as such for smoking about 20 cigarettes on average per day, while occasional smokers were those who smoked around 40 cigarettes a month, or 1-2 cigarettes a day. Even though occasional smokers were less likely to develop serious health diseases due to cigarettes, they still were significantly more likely to die prematurely from cancer or other lung disease, heart disease, or stroke compared to non-smokers.