A €42m public share offering has been launched to create a new co-op bank in Cyprus.
The Pancyprian Cooperative Bank formally launched its capital raising process at the HQ of teachers union Poed. It is offering up to 42 million new ordinary shares, to be issued at €1 per share, with investors being required to purchase a minimum of 100 shares each.
Individuals will account for 60% of the offering, while the remaining 40% will be allocated to Cyprus-based companies.
The launch follows a resolution passed at the bank’s AGM last December, authorising the capital increase through the public offering. The issue has been approved by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission.
The bank is also working to select a board of directors and senior management team, with the appointments subject to assessment by the European Central Bank.
Under the terms of the offering, the board reserves the right to increase the size of the share issue if demand exceeds the initial allocation, and the issue may be expanded to a maximum of 100 million shares, representing the company’s authorised share capital.
The move would restore co-op banking to Cyprus, following the collapse in 2018 of the Cyrus Co-op Bank, which suffered from the impact of the post-2008 recession and was surrounded by allegations of political interference.
It has been a long road for the launch of the new bank. Signed up with the Registrar of Cooperative Societies in December, 2021, the Pancyprian Company held its first AGM on March 15, 2022, electing a 19-member board of directors and a president, Panikos Hambas.
According to a report in Politis, the bank will use new tech to minimise costs, and will focus on student, education, medical and housing loans, alongside financing for green development and home renovations, and funding to small and medium-sized enterprises.
Commenting on the offer, the Cyprus Mail noted warnings in the prospectus that the bank faces a number of financial and regulatory obstacles in the way of its establishment, and that the funds raised through the offer may not meet the capital requirements of the regulator.
If the application is rejected, the prospectus says, shareholders and members could face potentially significant losses from funds already spent during the preparation phase, which would not be recoverable.
The Cyprus Mail cites a series of other concerns, including the need to build expertise in assessing credit risk, managing loan recoveries and creating adequate provisions, and concerns over the financial position the project. The prospectus says its working capital is insufficient to cover its financing needs for the next 12 months, the Mail notes, with a negative balance of €48,500 and net requirements of €38.23m, putting pressure on the share offer to succeed.
