George Karatzias was appointed chairman of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) on Thursday, returning to the regulator just over two years after leaving to become an executive director at the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC).

The Cabinet approved Karatzias’ appointment for a five-year term, alongside the appointment of Loukas Lagoudis as CySEC vice-chairman and Andrea Mounti Savvides as a board member.

Panikkos Vakkou was also appointed as an executive director on the CBC board, completing a reshuffle that will see the two financial institutions exchange senior officials.

The CBC congratulated Karatzias on his appointment as chairman of CySEC and thanked him for his contribution during his time at the central bank.

“At the same time, the CBC welcomes Panikkos Vakkou, who is assuming duties as an executive director at the CBC,” the central bank said in a statement on Thursday.

The CBC also thanked outgoing CySEC chairman George Theocharides for his productive cooperation with the central bank during his term.

The appointments had been expected ahead of Thursday’s Cabinet meeting, with Karatzias set to replace Theocharides after the latter headed CySEC since September 2021.

Karatzias previously served as CySEC vice-chairman from September 2021 until May 2024, when he left the regulator to become an executive member of the CBC board.

Vakkou was subsequently appointed CySEC vice-chairman on May 29, 2024, after first joining the Commission’s board as a non-executive member in January of that year.

His move to the CBC means that he will take the executive director position previously held by Karatzias.

The Cyprus Investment Funds Association (CIFA) on Thursday also thanked Theocharides and Vakkou for their service.

CIFA said it had appreciated the open dialogue, professionalism and constructive collaboration with CySEC during their leadership.

“CIFA extends its sincere gratitude to outgoing CySEC Chairman George Theocharides and Vice-Chairman Panikkos Vakkou for their service and dedication during their time with the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission,” the association said.

Outgoing (CySEC) chairman George Theocharides (left) and vice-chairman Panikkos Vakkou (right)

It said Theocharides and Vakkou had played valuable roles in developing and strengthening Cyprus’ regulatory environment during a period of growth and transformation in the financial services and investment funds sectors.

“We thank both George Theocharides and Panikkos Vakkou for their contributions to the Cyprus capital market and wish them every success in their future professional endeavours,” CIFA said.

Vakkou’s professional background spans banking, credit risk, financial technology and regulatory supervision.

Before joining CySEC full-time, he was Director of Operations and Credit Risk Manager at Haogen Technologies from September 2022 to May 2024, having previously spent six years as a director at RiskMatrix, the regional partner of Moody’s Analytics.

His earlier banking career included positions at Laiki Bank, the Bank of Cyprus and the Cooperative Central Bank.

Vakkou is a CFA Charterholder and holds an MSc in Mathematical Finance and a BSc in Mathematics with Statistics from the University of Manchester.

During his time at CySEC, he was also involved in discussions on digital investments, artificial intelligence, investor protection and financial literacy.

Karatzias has extensive experience in the investment funds sector, having led the Cyprus fund services operation of Alter Domus and served on CIFA’s board from 2019.

He also served for two terms on the Funds Committee of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus and is a Fellow of ACCA.

CySEC is governed by a seven-member board comprising a chairman, vice-chairman and five non-executive members, with the chairman and vice-chairman serving on a full-time and exclusive basis.

The CBC board comprises the Governor, Deputy Governor, two executive directors and five non-executive directors.