CYPRUS: RCB Bank opens 5th branch, one more to go

Limassol-based RCB Bank, one of four systemic banks in Cyprus that passed the ECB stress tests last October with flying colours, has opened a new branch in Nicosia, raising the total network to five, while it also plans to open one more soon.

The new branch is located on the central Limassol Avenue at the entrance of Nicosia and will provide services to both local retail and corporate clients, with the benefit of all branches operating at the more business-friendly hours of 9am to 5pm, despite labour agreements forcing other banks to roll down their shutters by 3pm
In July, RCB announced it was opening two new branches, one in Nicosia on 28th October Avenue in Engomi, and one in Limassol on Kolonakiou street in Linopetra.
Suggesting that RCB plans to expand its operations, the company said in an announcement that the opening of new branches “constitutes yet another step in realising RCB Bank’s plan to increase its local market operations and thus further solidify its leading position as a trustworthy, Cypriot bank.”
RCB Bank was established in 1995, is a member of the SSM mechanism and under direct supervision of the European Central Bank. As of March 31, its assets amounted to over EUR 11 bln and owner equity to EUR 500 mln. The bank also operates a branch in Luxembourg.
Last November, the bank announced that it raised $124.2 mln in fresh equity after Otkritie Financial Corporation Bank, the second largest privately owned and sixth largest bank in Russia, acquired a 20% stake.
After the deal, Russia’s VTB Group reduced its stake to 46.29% and RCB Bank, formerly the Russian Commercial Bank, was no longer considered a subsidiary bank, even though VTB also maintains a minority stake in the parent Otkritie Holding. Since 1997, Otkritie has also had a presence in Cyprus through its financial services and brokerage firm, Otkritie Finance (Cyprus) Limited.