NICOSIA, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Resolved Bank of Cyprus (BoC) has appointed a new CEO to succeed Irish banker John Patrick Hourigan, the man who led it from rags to recovery, a Bank statement said on Monday.
The statement said the new chief of the lender will be Panicos Nicolaou, who will take up his duties after his appointment is approved by the European Central Bank (ECB)
A CV released by BoC said Nicolaou, with financial services qualifications from two universities and a BSc in Mechanical Engineering, joined the lender in 2001 and his career has been mostly within the corporate banking division.
He was promoted to the position of director of the corporate banking division in June 2016 and has been an executive committee member since then.
Bank of Cyprus was at the center of international attention in 2013 when it became to first lender in the world to be recapitalized by "bail-in", the seizing of depositors' money to recapitalize.
The bank's resolution was part of a 10 billion euro bailout of Cyprus by the Eurogroup and the International Monetary Fund.
Nicolaou, as CEO designate, will in the months ahead closely work with Hourigan to safeguard a smooth transition.
Hourican was appointed as BoC CEO soon after the lenders resolution and managed to lead it into stability and at the same time to considerably reduce non-performing loans from about 52 per cent to around 20 per cent of the total loan portfolio.
The Bank's chairman, Josef Ackermann, a former chief executive officer of Deutsche Bank, said in a statement Nicolaou emerged from a strong international field as the Board's choice to lead the lender in its next chapter.
"Panicos comes from the Bank of Cyprus family, with a long and successful career and notable contributions in strengthening business relationships with our major corporate clients."
He added that he and the Board are fully confident that "the Bank of Cyprus will remain in good hands with Panicos at the helm".
