OREANDA-NEWS. August 12, 2009. The Bank of Cyprus has announced that a new five year agreement was signed today with shareholders George Piskov and Gagik Zakaryan, an event that testifies to BOC’s confidence in Uniastrum Bank’s BoD Chairman and its President. Similarly, the signing underscores BOC’s recognition of the need to harness the expertise and leadership finesse Mr. Piskov and Mr. Zakaryan have displayed during times of robust economic growth and global financial crisis. Commending their successful collaboration to date, both parties readily signed the new agreement, under which Mr. Piskov and Mr. Zakaryan will continue to head up top management at Uniastrum, each retaining a 10% interest in the Bank, reported the press-centre of Uniastrum Bank.

In the midterm, the Bank of Cyprus Group intends to move ahead with plans to gain a listing for Uniastrum Bank securities on the Russian stock exchange some time between 2014 and 2016. Acceptance of the Bank’s securities for trading will inevitably create bigger opportunities, open up wider access to ruble assets, and precipitate Uniastrum to a strong leadership position on Russia’s banking market.

Established in 1994 and headquartered in Moscow, Uniastrum Bank has one of the largest branch networks in Russia, totaling 220 outlets. Uniastrum Bank offers a wide range of retail products, has excellent deposit gathering capability, and enjoys high brand recognition. A merger between Uniastrum Bank and the Group’s subsidiary in Russia was wound up in June 2009. The tie-up is intended to optimize the performance of both organizations by reining in spending, improving cross-selling, and honing systems and procedures. The Group plans to harness Uniastrum’s ramified branch network, boosting BOC shareholder returns as a result. As of March 31, 2009, Uniastrum Bank’s lending and deposit portfolios totaled €816mn and €882mn, respectively.

Theodoros Aristodemou, BoD Chairman of the Bank of Cyprus Group, and Andreas Eliades, Group Chief Executive Officer, reaffirmed that choosing Uniastrum as a strategic acquisition further to BOC’s rollout strategy on the Russian market had been correct. They also said that extending the agreement between BOC and Uniastrum’s two founding shareholders will enable BOC to turn to good account the proven management skills and valuable experience of the two executives in the local market, specifically with a view to maximizing the benefits from Uniastrum’s performance for the Group’s shareholders. Also, the likelihood of Uniastrum gaining a listing on the Russian stock exchange bodes well for the Group’s growth prospects in Russia, and will mark the achievement of one of the Group’s avowed objectives, namely further expansion into the Russian market, which is BOC’s third key pillar of growth after Cyprus and Greece.

Commenting on the extension of the agreement between the Bank of Cyprus and the founding shareholders of Uniastrum Bank, George Piskov and Gagik Zakaryan expressed their complete satisfaction, adding that their fruitful relationship with the Bank of Cyprus to date had left them in no doubt as to the high quality of its management and expertise, as well as its sound financial standing. These factors, when merged with Uniastrum’s ramified network and local market experience, all but guarantee the Bank’s continued expansion and success, going forward.