There is a need for new incentives in order to increase the investment attractiveness of Cyprus, said RCB Bank CEO Kirill Zymarin, adding that lifting of capital restrictions after the 2013 crisis and national bailout provided the grounds to improve the investment climate in Cyprus and has become one of the major driving forces for the expected economic recovery.
“An increase of the country’s rating would be the next major driving force in facilitating investment activity in the real market and thus economic growth for Cyprus. To achieve this, the level of NPLs should be decreased dramatically,” Dr. Zimarin said at the third Cyprus Banking Forum in Nicosia.
Speaking during a panel discussion of the CEOs of major Cypriot banks, he added that resolving the remaining issues in the Cypriot banking sector will strengthen confidence and will allow for a much needed inflow of investments, thus facilitating economic growth.
RCB, that celebrates 20 years of operations this year, has enjoyed organic growth to a network of six branches in Limassol and Nicosia, and one in Luxembourg, with its exposure to non-performing loans less than 1% of its loanbook of $8.53 bln at the end of 2014, the year when it passed the European Central Bank “stress tests” on liquidity with flying colours.
Last month, Moody’s upgraded RCB Bank’s deposit ratings to B3 from Caa1, making it the highest rated bank in Cyprus.
In its rating report, Moody’s noted that as of June 2015, the bank’s Tier 1 capital ratio stood at 20.95%, while the ratio of NPLs to gross loans was a low 0.64% as of December 2014. Moody’s report also states that credit risk in RCB’s loan book was relatively contained and the outlook on the long term deposit ratings remained “stable”.
Net profit after tax for 2014 was $41.1 mln compared to $100.6 mln in 2013 and the number of employees increased from 240 to 248, which is expected to be closer to 300 by the end of 2015 having opened three new branches this year.
Its balance sheet stood at $9.75 bln at the end of 2014, from 11.24 bln at the end of 2013.
