Bank of Cyprus is reportedly considering divesting its loss-making Russian business Uniastrum Bank, as part of a plan to boost balance sheet and concentrate on its domestic operations.
The disposal of Uniastrum Bank is also part of Bank of Cyprus new chief executive John Hourican restructuring strategy, as reported by The Financial Times.
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Hourican was quoted by The Financial Times as saying it would, "seek a new owner" for Uniastrum Bank, which was acquired in 2008.
"Bank of Cyprus has no role being a retail bank in Russia as it doesn’t really help us at our main Cyprus bank – it is a different brand and has a very different clientele," Hourican told the publication.
The Russian retail banking operation accounts for over half of Bank of Cyprus’s 300 bank offices and a third of its workforce of 7,700 employees.
Hourican, who has already disposed off Bank of Cyprus Ukrainian operations to Russia’s Alfa Group and divesture of a minority stake in Romanian Banca Transilvania, said that any sale of its Russian operation was unlikely to happen until next year.
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By GlobalDataHSBC will advise on the sale of Uniastrum Bank.
