24.03.2022
RCB Bank Ltd has taken the decision to transform the Bank into a regulated asset management company, abandoning the banking operations that will be terminated.
“While the RZB has been and remains abundant in liquidity and capital, the current and extremely volatile geopolitical situation requires it to transform and adopt a new strategy – phasing out banking operations while at the same time ensuring that the best interests of its customers are protected. Subsequently, after the bank completes its transition from accepting deposits and issuing loans, it plans to transform into a regulated asset management company, given the significant assets on its balance sheet,” the press release reads.
It is noted that during this transformation, RCB Bank will continue to serve its existing customers and process all requests for payments or transfers of deposits to accounts in other banks, fulfilling any current obligations.
“From today, March 24, 2022, RCB Bank, in agreement with the ECB Banking Supervisory Authority, will cease entering into new customer relationships both in respect of deposits and/or loans. The bank will follow a specific schedule and process for terminating existing customer relationships.”
A special audit firm will be appointed to oversee the process.In order to carry out this process accurately, as well as to increase the confidence of clients that all obligations to them will be paid in full, RCB Bank agreed with the ECB Banking Supervision that it is advisable to appoint a special Auditing Firm, which, together with the bank’s management, will additionally supervise the process completion by the bank of settlements with depositors, ensuring the smooth completion of deposit relations.
The executives decided that a professional team from Deloitte would fill this role. The board of directors and management will continue to carry out their duties as usual, will organize the process of returning funds to customers and lead the transformation of the bank.
The bank notes that it will proceed to the full repayment of all its obligations to its customers and will continue to focus on managing the remaining assets. As recently announced, RCB has already negotiated a partial sale of its €556 million loan assets. This action, combined with the existing high level of liquidity, allows RCB to fully meet its obligations to customers and maintain sufficient liquid assets to continue its operations after its transformation into an asset management company, the report said.
“Our clients will be notified and asked to transfer their transactions/deposits to other banking institutions in the coming months. In the interim, existing customers will be served as normal.We will continue to make payments and transfers on behalf of our customers and ensure their transfer to other banks, card payment processing and acquiring services. We will make payments as usual on the same date and repay deposits according to their contractual maturity or standard notice period (within 5 business days in the event of early termination).
After full repayment of all claims and term deposits, RCB plans to transform into an asset management company that will continue to manage its significant loan portfolio and specialize in providing other services.
“RCB would like to sincerely thank its clients for a long and mutually beneficial cooperation and regrets that due to the new geopolitical situation, it decided to take such measures in the interests of Cyprus, when all its financial indicators were obviously among the best. in the country,” he concludes.
RCB Bank Ltd was founded on August 1, 1995 and was one of the largest banks in Cyprus and among the important European banks under the direct control of the European Central Bank through the SSM mechanism. The bank has branches in Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca, Paphos and Luxembourg
