NICOSIA: Bank of Cyprus, the island’s largest lender, has completed a €1bn ($1.34bn) capital increase in a private placement to help it restructure following a haircut on deposits last year.
BoC said the successful placement of 4.2 billion new ordinary shares at a price per share of 24 euro cents. “Shares were allocated to a broad range of institutional investors from Europe, North America and Russia, including a number of international investors introduced by WL Ross & Co LLC and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development,” BoC said.
Existing shareholders will be able to acquire up to 20 percent of the shares offered in the private placement scheme, with the initial allocation adjusted in line with their subscriptions. The increase will take the bank’s core Tier 1 capital to 15.1 percent from its present level of 10.6 percent.
BoC said the capital injection will help it restructure more quickly, withstand upcoming EU bank stress tests and help stimulate a recovery of the recession-hit Cyprus economy. “The success of the private placing demonstrates the confidence that international institutional investors have in the Bank’s turnaround and the economic recovery in Cyprus, only a year after the bank exited resolution status,” said BoC CEO John Hourican.
AFP
