WM issue 5

| 37 |
Stephanos Kassianides
GENERAL MANAGER, INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
BANKING AND BC NETWORK
International Business Banking caters for the banking
needs of resident and non-resident foreign individuals
and companies whose majority of operations
lie outside Cyprus. We offer the full spectrum
of banking products and services, such as current
accounts, fixed deposits, payment services, debit
and credit cards, credit facilities, treasury products,
trade finance facilities and escrow agency services.
The department’s mandate is to distinguish itself from its peers
through its high quality of service and speed of execution, aiming
to provide an unparalleled customer experience.
The Affluent Banking department provides the full spectrum
of personal banking products and services to clients through
dedicated relationship officers, located in the Banking Centers,
creating a unique customer experience.
Despite witnessing unprecedented times and escalating geopolitical
developments, we look to the future with optimism. In
every crisis there are opportunities and our biggest challenge is
to identify and explore them further. In the last few years, and
especially since the beginning of this year, we have observed
an increase in the number international companies relocating
their operations and staff to Cyprus, signaling a change in the
island’s International Business Industry landscape. We need
to ensure that we continue to offer a personalized customer
service, coupled with a strong digital offering in order to satisfy
the demanding needs of this clientele.
Antonis Antoniou
GENERAL MANAGER,
WEALTH MANAGEMENT & GLOBAL MARKETS
The Wealth Management & Global Markets Division
of Eurobank Cyprus has a long heritage
in the provision of wealth management, private
banking and global markets services, offering
a wide range of investment, treasury, banking and credit
solutions to our High Net Worth and Institutional Clients.
Our philosophy revolves around establishing and
maintaining long-term relationships of trust, combining
our extensive range of solutions with our high-calibre and
experienced personnel.
Responding to changing market needs and keeping up
with the disruptive and fast-moving investment environment
in which we live, our Bank has embarked on a
digital transformation journey. We have invested in a new
Wealth Management technology platform, planned to be
installed within the next few months, and this will enable
our clients to manage their wealth in a more efficient, advanced
and holistic way. In parallel, we continue to provide
our full spectrum of investment services and products
using an open architecture approach and to facilitate trading
in all global markets and financial instruments during
extended trading hours (9:30am-11:00pm).
Achilleas Malliotis
GENERAL MANAGER,
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
The role of a Bank’s COO was one of keeping all the
complex structures and operations within the organization
in a seamless functional equilibrium. This role in
Eurobank Cyprus is now changing and is expanding beyond
a pure cost perspective and operational efficiencies to include
the customer experience.
As the scope of activity is widened, the role of the COO of the bank
is facing major challenges against the backdrop of digitalization, regulations
and pressure on profitability.
Comprehensive digitalization is changing established business models
and their organizational structures, as it requires the reorganization
of governance, processes and a new value-added creation structure
without disrupting our operations and upseting our clients.
Guidelines, laws and directives are supposed to make the banking
system safer and help restore lost customer trust. Banks themselves
are overwhelmed by the flood of regulations and compliance is forcing
them to commit a high level of human and financial resources to
implement these regulations.
This requires the development of strategic cost reduction measures
by reorganizing the operating model and eliminating complexity.
As Eurobank Cyprus wants to continue to be successful and innovative
it has decided to align itself in such a way that it can simultaneously
cope with the challenge to be digital, compliant, efficient, agile
and fast in the market.
Demetris Shacallis
GENERAL MANAGER, CFO
The responsibilities of the Finance Division range from
the daily financial analysis and monitoring of the Bank’s
performance to monthly financial reporting to management,
the Board and the shareholder, regulatory reporting,
preparation of budgets and forecasts, tax planning as
well as the preparation of Financial Statements.
In a rapidly changing business environment, the Finance division has
grown in recent years beyond its traditional role, supporting the Management
in decision-making by providing in-depth data analyses and assisting
in forming strategic initiatives.
As the Bank grows, the increasing volume of data poses a big challenge in
processing information using traditional tools. To address this, the Bank
is in the process of implementing a new end-to-end technological infrastructure,
enabling the processing of data in a more timely and efficient
way, further enhancing analysis as a basis for strategic decision-making.
In the face of increased regulation, the Division focuses on keeping up
to date with all regulatory developments, ensuring compliance with all
relevant frameworks, including recent developments on ESG and sustainability
regulatory requirements.
Investing in human capital remains one of the main priorities of the
Bank. The challenge is not only to attract skilled resources but also to
further develop and retain talent. To this end, the Bank aims at establishing
itself as an employer of choice in a workplace where diversity and
inclusion play a key role.
Through the continuous introduction and updating of governance
policies, the Bank maintains a strong level in the area of Corporate Governance.