Four banks in Cyprus, namely the Bank of Cyprus, the Hellenic Bank, the Co-ops and the RCB Bank, will be directly supervised by the European Central Bank as of next November. The banks have been classified as “significant” and will be included in the euro zone banks to be directly supervised by the ECB, as

Ermes Department Stores Plc., the retail operating arm of the Shacolas Group, has agreed to sell its 50% stake in the airports shops operator CTC-ARI Holdings to joint venture partner Aer Rianta International for €55.7 mln. CTC-ARI Holdings is the owner of CTC-ARI (Airports) Ltd., operator of commercial shops in both Larnaca and Paphos airports

The Paphos Regional Board of Tourism sad that the region and Cyprus in general will get a major boost from Ryanair’s resumption of direct flights to Rome as of next October. The region’s tourism body, that includes hoteliers and travel groups, said that the continuation of as many as 31 flights a week is also

The British High Commission in Cyprus launches a "Holiday Hangover" campaign, targeted at young people who come to the lively resort of Ayia Napa. According to the High Commission it is hoping to encourage them to have a good time but act responsibly, since each year, the consular section in Nicosia deals with a number

The international publication Global Finance has announced its awards for the World’s Best Subcustodian Banks 2014. For Cyprus, “Best Sub-Custodian Bank 2014” has been awarded to Bank of Cyprus. The selection criteria included the quality of services offered, the effective settlement of transactions, the relationship with clients, and other aspects of custody services. This award

The National Guard – the Republic’s armed forces – is a necessity for Cyprus and will continue to upgrade itself, to meet obligations deriving from the country`s EU membership and the offshore discovery of hydrocarbons, the President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades said on Thursday. The President was inaugurating an exhibition of historic objects and documents

A feasibility study for the Eastern Mediterranean Pipeline will soon start, the Greek Minister for the Environment and Energy Yiannis Maniatis said in Athens. Maniatis also noted that initial studies show that the pipeline is “technically feasible”. The pipeline will start from Cyprus` hydrocarbon reserves and end to EU markets, passing through Greece, the Minister

Cyprus and Russia reaffirmed their excellent political ties during bilateral political consultations held Thursday in Nicosia. The consultations, held in the context of the Bilateral Political Consultations Protocol between the two countries, were headed by Alexandros Zenon, Permanent Secretary of the Cypriot MFA and Alexey Meshkov, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation who is

The Banks needs to have the necessary tools to pressure non-cooperative and viable borrowers to service their loans, Minister of Finance Harris Georgiades said on Thursday, noting however that the average borrower and house owner who faces financial problems should not be the primary target. Cyprus has received on March 2013 a €10 billion bailout