Speaking to reporters during a visit to the University of Cyprus, Georgiades said that raising freshcapital was a strategic objective for Cypriot banks.

“I am very pleased to see specific moves in that direction,” he said, adding that his statement concerned all Cypriot banks.

The government and the Central Bank had turned the pressure on Bank of Cyprus (BoC) recently to issue new capital as soon as possible, seeing that the board was dragging its feet on the matter.

BoC decided on Friday to proceed with exploring investor interest in a potential capital increase, aiming to expedite the implementation of the Group’s Restructuring Plan in tandem with the further strengthening of the Group.

The Hellenic Bank has assigned to N M Rothschild & Sons Limited the evaluation of its options in relation to capital issues and asked the firm to advise the Board of Directors accordingly.

Source: Cyprus Mail