BoC CEO sees modest profits at London listing

Bank of Cyprus expects modest profitability in the next quarters and will not pay a dividend this year, its chief executive said yesterday, speaking as its shares were listed on the London Stock Exchange. The listing in London was a vote of confidence in the City despite Britain’s looming exit from the European Union, CEO John Hourican said. “Our board’s view is that the City of London remains the right place for us to put our bank’s stock, a de facto vote of confidence,” he said. Cyprus’s biggest commercial lender is continuing its recovery after a bail-in of unsecured deposits and a recapitalization. One of the investors in the recapitalization was billionaire Wilbur Ross, US President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for commerce secretary. Funds managed by WL Ross & Co said yesterday his confirmation would not impact his funds’ shareholdings in BoC. steps are reassuring. “We have full confidence in the Israeli government’s ability to protect Israel’s territory and the development of its natural resources,” Mathios Rigas, chief executive of Greek energy firm Energean, told Reuters. Energean in August paid $148.5 million for the rights to develop the Tanin and Karish gas fields. It plans to invest up to $1.5 billion and bring in a floating production, storage and offloading unit to be anchored around 100 km out to sea, making it a potential target for attackers.