Bank of Cyprus Public Company Ltd ("the Bank") was founded in 1899 and is the holding company of the Bank of Cyprus Group ("the Group"). The Group offers a wide range of financial products and services, which include banking services, leasing, factoring, brokerage, fund management, investment banking, general and life insurance services.
The Bank of Cyprus Group operates a total of 569 branches and employs 12.127 staff worldwide. The Group is the leading financial services organisation in Cyprus, with a dynamic presence in Greece and Russia and operations in the United Kingdom, Australia, Romania, Ukraine and the Channel Islands. Bank of Cyprus also has eight representative offices in Russia, Romania, Ukraine, Canada and South Africa.
The Bank is licensed by the Central Bank of Cyprus and operates under its regulation and supervision.
The Bank operates 143 branches in Cyprus. At 31 December 2009, the Bank's market share in deposits and loans in Cyprus amounted to 28,1% and 27,5%, respectively.
The Bank has been operating in Greece since 1991. The dynamic expansion of the Bank's Greek operations started in 1999. The Bank operates 166 branches in Greece and has a market share in deposits and loans of around 4%. Kyprou Leasing, a Greek subsidiary of the Bank, held the second largest market share in the Greek leasing sector (17% share).
As part of its strategic plan, the Group expanded its international activities in Eastern Europe entering the markets of Romania, Ukraine and Russia in 2007 and 2008.
In Russia the Group commenced its operations in 2007 through the establishment of a wholly owned subsidiary and was the first Greek or Cypriot institution to enter the Russian market. In 2008 the Group's presence in the Russian market was further enhanced by the acquisition of an 80% interest in Uniastrum Bank. Uniastrum Bank was founded in 1994 and has its headquarters in Moscow. It operates though an extensive branch network of 216 branches in 43 regions. Uniastrum Bank offers an extensive range of products to the retail sector and enjoys high brand recognition.
In Romania the Group expanded its operations with the provision of banking and leasing services and currently operates 11 branches.
In Ukraine the Group operates 18 branches offering banking services in the Ukrainian market through a subsidiary.
The Group also operates in the United Kingdom and Australia through 4 and 10 branches respectively serving a diverse customer base.