Cyprus Business Now

The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute, a global association of investment professionals, on Friday awarded the prize of Most Outstanding Society Award 2022 to CFA Society Cyprus.

CFA Society Cyprus was founded in 2003 and acts as the local representative of the CFA Institute in Cyprus, boasting more than 120 members.

“Winning this award confirms in the most visible way the dedication and hard work of all members, as well as the diverse work produced during the past year, which was built on the solid foundations of previous years,” CFA Cyprus said in a statement.

CFA Cyprus president Eleni Constantinou expressed her satisfaction with the award win, saying that the association has proven that it can go toe-to-toe with the biggest organisations in the global finance industry.

“This award gives us the impetus to intensify our efforts to combat financial illiteracy and to highlight the value of the financial advisor in matters relating to sound financial planning at the business level, but also to private individuals,” Constantinou stated.

“CFA Cyprus will continue to promote ethics, market integrity and professional standards, as well as provide know-how, when and if requested, in order to improve and regulate the wider investment sector,” she concluded.

Asset management company APS on Thursday announced that it has acquired a Romania-based non-performing loan (NPL) portfolio worth €147 million from the Bank of Cyprus.

According to an announcement by APS, the sale of this portfolio is part of the Bank of Cyprus’ strategy of leveraging non-core assets and achieving sustainable and profitable medium-term and long-term growth.

APS CEO Martin Machon said that the Romanian market remains very important for the company, explaining that “this transaction strengthens our market position as the largest investor and troubled debt manager”.

“Through the new APS Credit Fund which has just been introduced to the market, our strategy is to continue to grow, exploring unique investment opportunities and buying new portfolios,” he added.

Michalis Athanasiou, director of large and international corporate banking at the Bank of Cyprus, said that the sale is part of the bank’s ongoing plan to end all operations in Romania.

“The sale also strengthens the core functions of the bank and is in line with the bank’s strategy,” Athanassiou added, before thanking APS for its cooperation and constructive approach during the transaction process.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Friday, June 10 with losses.

The main Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 71.58 points at 13:27 during the day, reflecting a drop of 0.36 per cent over the previous day of trading.

The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 42.96 points, which represents a decrease of 0.37 per cent.

The total value of transactions came up to €86,121.

In terms of the sub-indexes, the main, alternative, and hotel indexes fell by 0.37 per cent, 0.33 per cent and 0.51 per cent respectively, while the investment firm index rose by 0.49 per cent.

The biggest investment interest was attracted by the Bank of Cyprus (-0.44 per cent), Demetra (+0.53 per cent), Hellenic Bank (-1.11 per cent), Logicom (-2.65 per cent) and Vassiliko Cement Works (-1.46 per cent).