Bank of Cyprus recently announced a third-quarter net profit of €19m, and €119m for the first nine months of 2019, as it continued to repair its balance sheet.
“The bank is returning to strength, through a disciplined approach to balance sheet repair, the disposal of non-core businesses and cost rationalisation through digital transformation,” CEO Panicos Nicolaou said. “Good progress has been made throughout the year, however, there remains more to do, and we are focused on delivering balance sheet de-risking at pace and further efficiency gains across our cost base.”
BoC said the reduction of non-performing exposures (NPEs) in Q3 reached €227m, bringing the total reduction in the first nine months of the year to €684m.
It represents the 18th consecutive quarter of NPE reduction.
The lender said it has reduced its NPE stock by 73%, to €4.1bn since its peak in 2014.
Provisions have reached 51%.
“Overall, since 2014 we have managed a reduction in NPEs of €10.9bn, of which €8.2bn has been through organic actions,” Nicolaou said.
The bank’s capital ratios at the end of Q3 were CET1 of 14.9% and Total Capital ratio of 17.9%.
Last month, BoC completed a voluntary staff exit plan through which 470 applicants were approved to leave at a total one-off cost of €79m to be recorded in Q4.
Through the VRS, the bank has cut staff by 11%, achieving an estimated €28m in annual savings.
It also continued its branch rationalisation with an additional 8% of current outlets expected to go by the end of the year.
“These actions have been supported by our ongoing Digital Transformation Programme. The adoption of digital products and services continues to grow and gain momentum,” Nicolaou said.
To date, 75% of transactions involving deposits, cash withdrawals, and transfers were performed through digital channels, while the number of active users of mobile banking has increased by 54% since June 2017, he added.
Source: Cyprus Mail
