Referring to the Bank of Cyprus strategy, CEO John Hourican said the bank will focus on serving its local customers as well as foreign customers that come to the island. "The importance of today is to try and get back to doing business as normal," Hourican said addressing a presentation on Global Asset Management, organized by CISCO, BOCY’s subsidiary in cooperation with Schroder capital management firm.

"The unprecedented bail in on depositors removed the one ingredient that creates a banking environment that is confidence. We have embarked on a recapatalised journey with a real cloud of difficulty hanging over the bank and the country in re-establishing that credibility that is natural to capitalism which is the confidence that savings get converted to wealth creation loans and engines of growth for an economy," he said.

Noting that the bank relies on Central Bank and ECB funding, Hourican said: "it is our job to take it on a journey from being today inappropriately funded and back to being a strong albeit smaller safer bank."

Hourican was appointed as the CEO of Bank of Cyprus, after the lender entered a resolution process while 47.5% of its deposits over €100,000 were seized to recapitalise the bank, a condition of the €10 billion bailout Cyprus received from the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the IMF.

From 1997 until 2008, Hourican held a variety of positions across the RBS Group, including Chief Financial Officer of ABN AMRO Group, Head of Leveraged Finance and Chief Operating Officer of Global Banking & Markets. He received a degree in Economics and Sociology from the National University of Ireland and received a postgraduate diploma in Accounting from Dublin City University before starting his career at Price Waterhouse, where he worked in Dublin, London and Hong Kong. He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland. The Bank of Cyprus board said his appointment was made taking into account his qualifications and experience. “The Board of Directors believes the appointment of the new CEO is a key step in the implementation of the restructuring development of the bank’s activities to the benefit of our shareholders, our clients and the economy of the country,” their statement said.