Amex to start, Wardley renamed HSBC

American Express is considering opening an exchange bureau to exchange travellers’ cheques, accept foreign currency and take care of foreign clients; Wardley is changing its name to HSBC Investment Bank; and, leaders hailed a decision to start EU accession talks within 1996, according to the Cyprus Financial Mirror issue 96, on February 1, 1995.

American Express plans to open an exchange bureau due to popular demand, mostly from foreign clients, according to Territory Manager Soteris Soteriou. The brand was first introduced to Cyprus in 1925 by AL Mantovani and Sons, and since 1968 when it appointed the first merchant, the network of outlets has reached 3,500.

Wardley Cyprus, the offshore banking unit (OBU) owned by the HSBC Group has changed its name to HSBC Investment Bank Cyprus as part of a global process to create a unified brand, said Managing Director Takis Taoushanis. The bank is quite active locally as well, providing over $80 mln in loans to Cypriot entities and recently concluded a $70 mln medium government.

term

loan

facility

to

the

The government and most of the political parties and professional bodies applauded the EU Foreign Ministers agreement in Brussels to start accession talks with Cyprus “no later than six months” after the conclusion of the 1996 intergovernmental conference to review the Maastricht treaty.

Lombard Natwest Bank reported a record 177% rise in profits rising to CYP 1.65 mln for the financial year ended September 1994, with deposits up 24% to CYP 118 mln and loans up 32% at CYP 86 mln. Total assets increased to CYP 160 mln, said Chairman Michalis Colocassides