Bank of Cyprus wins 5th Banker award

The Banker magazine has awarded the Bank of the Year for Cyprus award to the Bank of Cyprus for the fifth time in six years, an announcement said.

The award jury said its decisions were based on the bank’s significant improvement in its profitability indicators, which arose from cost cutting, in parallel with an increase in income in Cyprus and Greece, where profits increased by 17%. The Group’s cost to income ratio fell from 67.3% in 2003 to 62% in 2004, the announcement said.

The Group Chief Executive, Andreas Eliades, stated in his statement to the magazine that, “the Bank of Cyprus Group continues its efforts to increase profitability with the continued dynamic penetration of the Greek market and its plans to expand beyond the traditional markets to new markets that present high growth opportunities. In parallel, the Group has intensified its efforts to improve pricing, risk management and cost containment. The main focus of the group is to provide customers with the best quality service using increasingly cost effective procedures, through a variety of alternative distribution channels and innovative products that aim to satisfy the needs of each and every customer.”

Yiannis Kypri, Group Chief General Manager, received the award on behalf of the bank at a special ceremony that recently took place in London, the announcement said.