Christos Sorotos appointed as interim CEO of Bank of Cyprus

The Central Bank of Cyprus appointed Christos Sorotos as the interim Chief Executive Officer of Bank of Cyprus, which is currently undergoing a resolution process, following a decision of Eurogroup to impose losses on uninsured deposits as part of a €10 billion bailout financial assistance to the island.

"The Central Bank of Cyprus, acting as Resolution Authority and after a decision of the Bank of Cyprus Board of Directors and after consultation with the Minister of Finance, announced the appointment of Cristos Sorotos, as interim CEO of Bank of Cyprus. The appointment take effect as of Wednesday May 29," a CBC issued today said.

Along with the Bank`s interim Board, Sorotos, a former Deputy Governor of Bank of Greece and Country Corporate Officer of CITIBank for Greece, will draft a restructuring plan for Bank of Cyprus and will take the administrative reins of the Bank until the shareholders General Meeting which will appoint the new Board and the Bank`s senior management.

The Eurozone Finance Ministers, collectively known as the Eurogroup, decided to provide a €10 billion financial assistance to Cyprus, after imposing losses to uninsured bank deposits in a bid to recapitalize the island`s troubled banking sector, heavily exposed in Greece. As part of bailout, Bank of Cyprus, the island`s largest lender, absorbed the good part of Cyprus Popular Bank (insured deposits and loans) which will be wound. Furthermore, 27.5% of uninsured deposits in BoC have been converted into equity, whereas an additional 22.5% remains frozen until an evaluation of the Bank`s assets.