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It is not to so much John Hourican’s decision to reconsider his resignation that is important, as much as the air of stability that now seems to blow over the Bank of Cyprus, dispelling the dark clouds hanging over it.
A sense of numbness had descended at the island’s biggest lender ever since the CEO announced in April he would step down, for “personal reasons.” But whatever those reasons may have been, all were aware of the storm that the bank sailed through, replacing three chief executives in as many years. So, the pressure on the second most important person in the economy was very well known prior to the appointment, as were the risks involved.
Besides, Hourican did not agree to the job out of pity or charity. He had already built his nest egg at RBS and saw the challenge of rebuilding a modern bank from the ashes of an anachronistic institution, with all that this entailed of its regulators, as yet another feather in his cap.
This week’s shareholders’ meeting also sought to reward the bank’s executive team with generous pay hikes, all the more reason for Hourican to stay on, especially as he had done so much to turn the bank around from the day he took over, exactly two years ago. It is doubtful anyone would put in so much effort only to allow someone else to get the credit at the end of the day, no matter which year’s ‘Banker of the Year’ trophy sits on the mantelpiece.
From day one, Hourican also challenged the establishment, firing away in all directions whenever he saw his bank’s foundations starting to shake. He was outspoken when it came to MPs dragging their feet over the foreclosures and insolvency framework, and was even more so last week when he stopped short of blaming politicians for meddling in banking affairs in their effort to appear as saviours of the ‘hoi polloi’ with the parliamentary elections just around the corner.
However, the deputies showed their incompetent and dumb selves again when they watered down the bill allowing banks to sell their bad loans to private funds, simply because they were pressured from major borrowers who refuse to repay their loans and the ordinary folk are the ones picking up the bill. Don’t forget, these are the same 56 MPs who sounded the heroic ‘No’ in March 2013 to the Eurogroup’s initial bailout plan, and we all know how that turned out. Trouble is, voters in Cyprus have a short memory.
