Eliminating intermediaries
Recent Progresssince the crisis
Despite a lingering reputation that it inherited from past shortcomings, Cyprus has been successfully engaged in a protracted battle against Money Laundering. Even in the midst of an economic crisis, it has proactively terminated accounts, lost pro�ts and turnover and engaged in an aggressive clean-up campaign under the most stringent rules.
In all cases mentioned in the Press and by Political Commentators, the Bank has been proactive in its reporting: It flagged, noted
and reported in a timely and comprehensive manner all suspicious activity before any requests were made by
authorities.
Cyprus: Continued wins against money laundering
1601intermediaries
in 2014
currently
324intermediaries
5359 customers terminated/suspended
exclusively on Compliance (KYC/AML) grounds in years 2015-2017.
Foregone net profits on own initiative
Proactive reporting before requests from authorities
Estimated €3,6 billion as a result of terminations/ suspentions in years 2015-2017.
+ -
$ €
Reduction of exposure of International Business to Russian and Ukraine customers by 60% and 41%
respectively since the beginning of 2014.
Russian and Ukrainian deposits account only for 8,34% of total deposits as at 31/12/2017.
Customer Terminations and Rejections
Lower-than-reported exposure to Russia and Ukraine
Loss of turnoveron own initiative
Estimated €10,5 million from customers
terminated/suspended in years 2015-2017.
2937 potential new customers rejected
Cyprus is included in the OECD White List, of "Largely Compliant" jurisdictions.
Cyprus has implemented since December 2013, the strictest AML regulatory framework in Europe. Comparative frameworks are under adoption in all other EU countries as of June 2017, four years later than Cyprus.
Cyprus has been cited as an Early Adopter of CRS (Common reporting Standards) of OECD and is fully aligned with FATCA.
Cyprus ranked
1stin the recent survey carried out by Transparency International
(TI) for AML Transparency Measures and Quality of Reporting.
The TI report mentioned explicitly that “Cyprus disclosed the most complete set of anti-money laundering data among the
12 analysed countries (including USA, UK, Germany, Luxembourg, France, Australia.)”
Since 2013, when Cyprus applied to the Troika (Eurogroup, IMF, ECB) for a rescue package, the rescue plan has included several AML-related issues, all of which have been fulfilled.
Transparency International
Fulfilment of IMF-ECΒ rescue rules
Recognition from OECD
Ahead of the curve: early adopter of CRS, FATCA and other rules
+
Recent Progresssince the crisis
Fully adheres to all relevant local, European and international legislation, including the USA Patriot Act, UK corporate
governance code and EU regulation.
USA Patriot Act(and then some)
New regulators and oversight
The listing in the LSE has entailed persistent maintenance of the highest corporate governance standards. BoC is now regulated by
7separate,
international entities
from
4jurisdictions
(Cyprus, Ireland, the UK and the EU)
Recent Progresssince the crisis
37,7K alerts generated on average every month in 2017 by the Bank's specialized AML system, demonstrating proactive stance.
Alerts
547 Internal Suspicious Reports and
510 FIU reports
proactively filed since 2015
2016 Transparency International Award for Best Practices, Initiatives and Actions to Reduce Corruption and/or increase Transparency in Cyprus.2017 and 2018 Best Corporate Governance Corporation (Cyprus) Award by World Finance (UK). 2017 and 2018 the Bank of the Year (Cyprus) Award, of Corporate Insider's Business Excellence Awards (UK).
Reports
Awards
US and Cyprus * US FDI to Cyprus amounted to
10.5% of Cypriot GDP ($2 billion)
US A�liate Sales in Cyprus stood at
9% of Cypriot GDP($1.7 billion)
US A�liates maintain$26 billion in assets
(137% of Cypriot GDP)
Major shareholders hailing from North America
(US and Canada) accountfor 7.4% of shareholding, as at 31/12/2017.
US and Bank of Cyprus
Sources: Bank statistical information as at 31/12/2017.
(*): The Transatlantic Economy 2017 – Center for Transatlantic Relations Johns Hopkins University | Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studiesby Daniel S. Hamilton and Joseph P. Quinlan