19 August 2014
Shareholders of FBME Bank will use every legal avenue available to challenge the legality of Central Bank of Cyprus’ decision to mandate the sale of its Cyprus branch.
Monthly Archives: September 2014
FBME Card Services Announces Redundancies
12 August 2014
Was this what was meant when the Central Bank of Cyprus announced that their job in taking over the Cyprus branch of FBME was to protect depositors? What about staff in FBME Card Services, 72 of whom have been made redundant due the suspension of business at the company? In turn, this is a direct result of the Central Bank’s Special Administrator in not allowing FBME Bank to make transactions.
Statement from FBME Limited on the recent Court Case
8 August 2014
FBME Limited, the holding company of FBME Bank, regrets the decision of the High Court in Nicosia not to grant an interim injunction to forbid the sale of the Cyprus branch of the Bank. The company will explore other avenues to challenge this sale which it describes as a hostile takeover.
EU Laws Must Be Complied With – Commission
8 August 2014
In a letter dated 7 August 2014 Stefaan De Rynck, Head of Unit at the European Commission’s Directorate General Internal Market and Services, wrote to lawyers for FBME undertaking to take steps to monitor the situation in Cyprus and ensure that EU laws are complied with.
US Forensic Investigation Underway at FBME Bank
7 August 2014
Specialist forensic accountants arrived in Cyprus on Wednesday, 30 July, to initiate an investigation into the Anti Money Laundering policies and procedures of FBME Bank. The investigation is part of the Bank’s engagement with the US Department of Treasury following the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Notice of Findings, dated 15 July 2014.
FBME Calls for PWC Investigation to be Released
6 August 2014
The Central Bank of Cyprus commissioned an investigation into the whole financial sector in Cyprus, including FBME, which was carried out by the international consulting firm PwC from 17 June to 4 July 2014. The findings of this report have not been released to FBME, its shareholders, or, as far as we know, to the public in Cyprus, who presumably paid for the investigation. This should be released.
In meetings senior officials of FBME the Central Bank of Cyprus said that the report did not raise any serious Anti Money laundering concerns.
FBME Bank – Recognised for Transaction Quality
In 2013, FBME Bank won its eighth consecutive STP Excellence award from Deutsche Bank for the “excellent quality of its payment messages” in reference to what is known as straight-through processing for Euro and US dollar transactions. STP allows for the entire trade process for capital market and payment transactions to be made electronically, while being subject to legal and regulatory controls.
These awards pay testament to the well-regarded operations within the Bank and the professionalism of its staff. With German roots, Deutsche Bank is a leading global financial institution present in major markets around the world.
Payments Should be Resumed
6 August 2014
Depositors should have a right to access their accounts at the Cyprus branch of FBME. Payments have been effectively blocked by the Special Administrator of the Central Bank of Cyprus, although he claims to be approving transactions. But very few have been given the go-ahead. The claim that this is due to an absence of correspondent banking arrangements, made by the Central Bank of Cyprus, is not true: there are correspondent banks.
Letter sent to European Central Bank
5 August 2014
Correspondence has been initiated with the European Central Bank (ECB by the shareholders of FBME Limited, the holding company of FBME Bank, setting out concerns at actions taken by the Central Bank of Cyprus and the performance of its Special Administrator since 21 July 2014. The letter was sent to the Chair of the Supervisory Board of the European Central Bank, Mrs Daniele Nouy on 5 August 2014.
FBME Shareholders Say ‘Wait’ for Forensic Report
4 August 2014
Specialist forensic accountants from the US have started their investigation into the Notice of Findings and the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued by the FinCEN bureau of the US Department of Treasury.
