The admission to trading of Bank of Cyprus securities on the Main Market of the Stock Exchange was completed, with the Bank's President, Takis Arapoglou, declaring the opening of the session by ringing the traditional bell. Recall that the most recent General Meeting of Shareholders decided with a 99.98% majority to delist it from the London Stock Exchange at the same time as its listing on the Athens Stock Exchange.
"The Bank is returning to the SA after 7 years. As it turned out, the London Stock Exchange denied us visibility among a wider range of investors, the possibility of comparison with more directly comparable banks, and correspondingly sufficient analyst coverage. As a result, the progress we were continually making in rebuilding the bank and our ever-improving results were not well reflected in the share price, which continued to have very low trading volumes. This in turn prevented many investors from being interested and investing in Bank of Cyprus," said Bank of Cyprus Chairman Takis Arapoglou.
30% DIVIDEND
"It is with great pleasure and satisfaction that today marked the return of Bank of Cyprus to the Athens Exchange after 7 years. This move symbolizes the beginning of a new chapter for the Bank, as the listing of the shares on the Athens Stock Exchange is expected to increase its visibility and marketability, putting it in the focus of more analysts and investors, making it more directly comparable to banks that have a similar business model to ours. An important recognition of our great progress was the approval by the regulators to distribute a dividend for two consecutive years, with the dividend amounting to 30% of our profitability for fiscal year 2023," Arapoglou said at yesterday's meeting.
THE BENEFITS FOR THE BANK
It is worth mentioning that the admission to the Main Market of the CSE is an important step for the Bank of Cyprus, as it increases its visibility to a wider base of institutional and private investors. According to the management, the re-listing of Bank of Cyprus shares on the CSE is the next step in the process of further enhancing its profile, as the CSE is a mature European stock exchange with a growing reputation in line with Greece's steady economic growth. In particular, the admission: - will increase the Bank's visibility to a wider range of institutional and private investors; - will allow for easier comparison with the four major Greek banks, which the Bank considers to be its closest peers; - will provide greater access to capital from investors active on the Athens Stock Exchange for the benefit of shareholders and the Bank itself; - over time, will allow the Bank of Cyprus to become eligible for inclusion in additional equity indices The decision of the Board of Directors is an important development for our market as it marks the end of a difficult period, restoring balance again after years of crisis. It is a vote of confidence in the SA and proof that our market has returned to a growth trajectory. It is the intention of the EP to support other such initiatives that strengthen the stock market.".
STOCK MARKET CEO STATEMENT
Furthermore, the CEO of the EXAE Group, Yiannos Kontopoulos, stressed, among other things, that the decision of the management of the Bank of Cyprus to relist its securities on the Greek stock market aims at increasing the visibility of the Bank of Cyprus on the one hand and, on the other hand, at enhancing the liquidity that this will cause.
