The Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) announces that, following the conduction of relevant checks, it has found that the Cyprus Popular Bank Public Co Ltd has violated the provisions of Articles 18(2)(a), 36(1)(a), (b) and (c) and 52(1) of the Investment Services and Activities and Regulated Markets Law, 2007 and Articles 6, 10 and 14 of the CBC Directive for the Professional Conduct of Banks during the Provision of Investment or Ancillary Services and during the Performance of Investment Activities.
Based on the findings of the onsite inspection conducted by the CBC, for the purposes of examining the processes and practices applied during the promotion of capital securities issued by the Cyprus Popular Bank Public Co Ltd, in the years 2008, 2009 and 2010 and the Convertible Enhanced Capital Securities ('CECS') in 2011, it is documented that the measures undertaken by the bank were insufficient to prevent, directly or indirectly, investment advice on the sale of these securities.
As a mitigating factor in determining the amount of the administrative fine, the CBC took into account the recent events in the bank itself, the ‘bail-in’ imposed on the uninsured depositors and other creditors, the state of resolution in which the bank is in until its liquidation, as well as the principles governing the imposition of administrative sanctions. Thus, the CBC has decided not to impose a fine on the bank.