The privatisation process for the Cyprus Cooperative Bank has been postponed for mid-May reliable sources told the Cyprus News Agency. Under the initial timeframe, binding offers should have been submitted next Monday.
According to the same sources, the delay was approved by the European Central Bank and the SSM which supervises the Cypriot systemic banks, among which the CCB. The SSM will be called on to approve the transaction.
The deadline for the submission of binding offers is extended until mid-May, the same sources said. According to CNA sources, three interested investors have shown interest for the CCB.
“The process goes well, the interest is significant and serious and therefore there should be sufficient time for a decision,” the same source told CNA.
Saddled with non-performing exposures (NPEs) amounting to €6.2 billion roughly 60% of its total loans and facing mounting capital needs due to new assumptions concerning the valuation of collateral connected with the its NPEs, the CCB launched a bidding process offering prospective investors with two options. Either to acquire the whole banking entity through a capital raise or to acquire performing part of the bank, that is, performing loans, deposits and part of its banking network.
So far, only Hellenic Bank confirmed its interest for the CCB.
Source: CNA
