This marks the ninth occasion that the bank has received this accolade from Euromoney.
In a statement, the bank said that the award, which assessed its performance from January 1, 2023, to December 21, 2023, “recognises the bank’s significant achievements in 2023, in the first year of the bank’s new chapter as a well-capitalised, diversified and sustainably profitable financial services group”.
Louise Bowman, editor of Euromoney, said that “the past year has been a significant one for the Bank of Cyprus because it paid its first dividend in 12 years in 2023″.
“While this was relatively small at €22 million or 14 per cent of 2022 earnings, it secured ECB approval for a 30 per cent pay-out ratio over 2023 earnings, including a share buyback for up to €25 million and a cash dividend of €112 million,” Bowman added.
According to the result, the holding company generated revenue of $451 million during the period, up 43 per cent from $316 million in the same quarter last year.
The company also noted that the increase in revenue was supported by a 51 per cent increase in interest income to $226 million, “driven by higher interest income from margin lending to customers, bank loans and trading securities”.
Moreover, insurance underwriting income surged by 188 per cent to $129 million, “driven by the expansion of insurance operations such as pension annuity and accident insurance classes”.
“Our insurance underwriting income for the three months ended June 30, 2024, was $129.4 million, an increase of $84.5 million or 188 per cent, compared to the three months ended June 30, 2023,’ the company said.
“The increase was driven by the expansion of our insurance operations such as pension annuity and accident insurance classes between the two quarters,” it added.
This marks an increase of 2,238 individuals, a rise of 4.3 per cent, compared to the same period in 2023.
According to the report, in July alone, government employment stood at 53,039 individuals.
In the public service, there were 12,032 permanent employees, accounting for 51.6 per cent of the workforce.
Additionally, there were 4,235 employees on indefinite contracts, representing 18 per cent, 1,231 employees on fixed-term contracts, making up 5.3 per cent, and 5,835 hourly wage workers, constituting 25 per cent of the total.
The total weight of goods transported by road within Cyprus saw a 3.7 per cent increase during the period from January to March 2024, compared to the same period in 2023.
According to a report released by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat) this week, 10.86 million tonnes were transported in the first quarter of 2024, up from 10.48 million tonnes in the first quarter of 2023.
In contrast, the weight of goods transported by road to and from Cyprus during the same period recorded a slight decrease of 0.9 per cent.
However, it should be noted that the total number and overall value of bounced cheques fell year-on-year during the first seven months of 2024.
Specifically, data released this week revealed that a total of 36 bounced cheques, valued at €60,416, were issued in July 2024.
This marks a considerable rise compared to the previous month, when 12 cheques, valued at €13,048, were recorded.
The total number of legal and natural persons added to the CIR’s preliminary list stood at 15, comprising 11 legal entities and 4 individuals.
Moreover, for the period from January to July 2024, a total of 170 bounced cheques, with a combined value of €363,363, were registered in the CIR’s preliminary list.
This represents a decrease from the same period last year, which saw 209 cheques with a total value of €615,811.
The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Tuesday, August 13 with profits.
The general Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 164.98 points at 12:31 during the day, reflecting an increase of 0.60 per cent over the previous day of trading.
The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 100.42 points, representing a rise of 0.61 per cent.
The total value of transactions came up to €105,637, until the aforementioned time during trading.
In terms of the sub-indexes, the main, alternative, investment firm and hotel indexes all rose, increasing by 0.68 per cent, 0.48 per cent, 1.21 per cent and 0.38 per cent respectively.
The biggest investment interest was attracted by Demetra (+4.55 per cent), the Bank of Cyprus (+0.49 per cent), Hellenic Bank (+4.07 per cent), Logicom (+0.67 per cent), and Vassiliko Cement Works Public Company Ltd (no change).
