Chartered pension fund donates €9.5 mln to BOCOC

The administrators of the former Chartered Bank staff pension fund donated €9.5 mln to the Bank of Cyprus Oncology Centre (BOCOC), used to replace three linear accelerators.

A linear accelerator (LINAC) aims radiation at cancer tumours with pinpoint accuracy, sparing nearby healthy tissue. It’s used to deliver several types of external beam radiation therapy.

Chartered Bank’s Cyprus operations were taken over by Bank of Cyprus in 1982, absorbing the entire workforce and enhancing the local bank’s position as the leading lender on the island.

Announcing the donation, Bank of Cyprus CEO Panicos Nicolaou said that the bank, that established the oncology centre 25 years ago, has to date contributed €70 mln.

In 2022, the bank and its fund-raising efforts contributed €1.12 mln to BOCOC, with Nicolaou saying the 2023 donation was double that amount.

“We are committed,” he added, “to contribute increased funds for the coming years as well so that the [oncology] centre can implement its plans to expand its infrastructure.”

More than 55,000 patients have been treated at the BOCOC since its establishment by Bank of Cyprus and the government in 1998, 60% of diagnosed cancer cases on the island during the past 25 years.