The Bank of Cyprus shares traded on the Cyprus Stock Exchange at 21 eurocents, down by 12.5% compared with the 24 eurocents opening price in its return to the CSE and the Athens Exchange, after 21 months of suspension since the March 2013 Eurogroup decisions for a bailout of the Cypriot economy.
The return of the island`s Cyprus’ largest lender boosted investor activity in CSE as the value of the transactions for the shares of the Bank of Cyprus alone reached €0.9 million by 12:00 local time (10.00 GMT), compared with a total volume of €0.2 million of yesterday`s entire session.
In ATHEX Bank of Cyprus` shares are currently trading at 0,208 eurocents, down by 13% from its opening price with a volume of 3.4 million shares, considered very low compared with the bank`s total issued shared capital of 8.92 billion.
Experts say they had anticipated greater pressure on the bank`s shares since shareholders, who saw their shares diluted since the conversion of deposits to equity, expected to sell their shares.
“We expected greater pressure,” Takis Zamanis trader of Greek Beta Securities told CNA. “Those who were stuck with shares in their hands after the haircut on deposits were expected to rush today to sell, something which has not happened so far and perhaps they will believe that the share price will rise in the next months.”
Other traders told CNA that the Bank of Cyprus share has its own momentum and its fluctuation on ATHEX and should be considered as separate from the current vulnerable political instability in Greece, as the bank has sold its Greek operations, as part of the Cyprus financial assistance package.
The Bank of Cyprus CEO John Patrick Hourican has told the Financial Times that the bank has recently received deposits from Greece.
CNA/GS/MM/2014
ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY