Section 7(1) of the Banking Law No.66(I) of 1997, as subsequently amended, (hereinafter to be referred to as “the Law”), provides, among other, that a bank incorporated in the Republic, shall not establish or maintain a representative office outside the Republic without the prior approval of the Central Bank.
Having regard to the above , a bank incorporated in the Republic wishing to establish a representative office outside the Republic, must submit a written application to the Central Bank in order to obtain its approval.
Notwithstanding the above, the applicant bank must, also, obtain the necessary authorisation from the competent authorities of the host country.
The information and documents required for the establishment of a Representative Office outside the Republic are the following:
(a) The address of the Representative Office in the host country, in case this is known at the application stage.
(b) Extract from the minutes of the relevant Board of Directors’ meeting of the applicant bank, resolving the establishment of a Representative Office outside the Republic.
(c) Business plan with respect to the proposed investment as approved by the applicant bank’s board of directors which is expected to include:
- Details on the rationale and economic substantiation for opening a Representative Office in the host country and if available a SWOT analysis prepared by the applicant bank.
- Summary information on the state of the economy and the banking system of the host country, as well as the procedure for the opening of a Representative Office in the said country.
- Details on the financial aspects of the proposed venture indicating analytically all start up and recurring (annual) costs.
(d) Details of the person(s) to be in charge of the Representative Office (the representative officer(s)) including a CV.