Legal framework for Cyprus NPLs by end-2014

The government and the Central Bank are coordinating efforts to conclude the right legal framework to address non-performing loans by the end of the year in order to deal with the challenges facing the banking sector, President Nicos Anastasiades told the annual meeting of the Employers and Industrialists Federation (OEV).
The President also said that a legal framework for insolvency procedures must be found as well and that “there are no magic solutions and these efforts are not going to be easy.”
He called on all social partners to show a constructive stance, unity and consensus, cooperation and coordination in order for the economy to return to growth.
Anastasiades said that the Troika of international lenders have noted progress in various sectors of reform and that the economy is regaining credibility.
He added that restructuring combined with opportunities that arise in sectors such as energy, shipping, tourism, services and renewable sources will soon yield results.
He also highlighted the many benefits from the recent agreement with the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) saying that many opportunities will arise.
Furthermore, he referred to the privatisation process as well as the efforts to reform the pubic sector and the many advantages these will bring to the state and the people.
The President concluded that economic recovery and development is the only way to tackle unemployment, adding that the government has launched various projects for job creation and decrease of the unemployment rate.
The meeting also saw a change in the OEV leadership, with insurer Philios Zachariades stepping down and consultant Christos Michaelides taking the helm of the employers group.