Gold Magazine June - July 2013, Issue 27 | Page 35

HELLENIC BANK

dence in the system and had a very negative
impact on Hellenic Bank. Nevertheless, in
this exclusive interview with Gold, he insists
that the Bank remains strong and hopes
to maintain its independence as it moves
towards satisfying its capital adequacy requirements by the end of September.
CBC’s decisions and the relevant decrees
issued by the Minister of Finance regarding
restrictions on banking transactions. We
believe that the present restrictive measures
regarding the internal market are still excessive and are one of the reasons that led to
the recent downgrading of Hellenic Bank
by Fitch Ratings – one that is not related to
the Bank itself. Our inability to fully serve
our customers’ needs, due to the restrictive
measures that have been imposed on us, has
had an impact on our relationship with some
of customers. Unfortunately, what has happened has shaken the public’s trust in banks
in general and in the reputation of Cyprus
as a financial centre, even though we – as
Hellenic Bank – differentiate ourselves from
the rest of the banking sector and have, so
far, successfully managed these changes. In
general, I would say that the Group is coping quite well. It has a comfortable liquidity
(ratio of net loans to deposits 61%) and has
not needed any assistance in the form of cash
from the Emergency Liquidity Assistance
(ELA) of the European Central Bank.

WE BELIEVE THAT THE
PRESENT RESTRICTIVE
MEASURES
REGARDING THE
INTERNAL MARKET
ARE STILL EXCESSIVE
• Hellenic Bank wins Deutsche
Bank’s 2008 EUR STP Excellence
Award for the Exceptional Quality of
Payment Messages.
2009 An agreement is signed
between Hellenic Bank and the
European Investment Bank for the
granting of loans on favourable
terms to small and medium-sized
enterprises in Cyprus and Greece.

What measures do you consider necessary
for Cyprus to come out of the recession?
We believe that, following the recent Eurogroup decisions and agreement on the
MoU, Cyprus should intensify its efforts to
change its financial model in order to support economic growth so that the island soon
emerges from the recession. We expect to see
the implementation of effective measures to
reduce unemployment and improve business conditions. Generally speaking, every
effort must be geared towards restarting
the economy in order to create investment
projects and to open up job opportunities.
On the other hand, we also need to intensify
our efforts to rebuild credibility and trust in
both the economy and the country’s financial
system. Attracting foreign investment by offering a favourable business environment and
the right incentives will also be key, as will
encouraging new investments in sectors such
as energy, green economy and tourism.
What will Hellenic Bank focus on and
what messages do you want to give your
customers and those foreign investors who
have placed their trust in you?
We are in constant communication with
our customers in order to preserve to the
maximum our cooperation and the excellent
relationships that we have developed with
them. The limitations imposed on the transfer of capital have definitely had a negative
impact on many of our business relationships
but we expect that lifting them will immediately benefit both the Bank and its customers.
Our main message is that we are a Bank with
a strong balance sheet, prudent management

2010 Hellenic Bank passes the
European Union Banking Stress Test
Exercise. This exercise, carried out at
the Bank’s own initiative, recognises
its healthy financial position and
strong capital adequacy even in the
worst-case scenario. • Hellenic Bank
wins the Citi Performance Award of
Citi Bank for its fully automated swift
transactions towards Citi Bank.

and comfortable liquidity, and we are making constant efforts to reinforce our capital
adequacy. People who bank with us know that
we have always been a reliable partner and that
we will support them. Unfortunately, many of
the decisions that are deeply affecting us were
taken without any prior consultation with us.
What measures has Hellenic Bank taken to
contribute to the overall effort to restart the
economy?
Hellenic Bank is contributing in a proactive and decisive way. Since 17 April, we
have lowered the basic lending interest &FW2