10 October 2014

Thousands of computers all over the world are accessing the fbmeltd.com website, as shown by the latest statistics of use. A large number of people in North America in particular are finding the site and returning regularly for updates. Many others in the EU and CIS are also avid followers, as well as thousands in Cyprus. In total, since the site was launched in early August there have been 425,000 individual hits on the site from 79 countries.

Since the launch of multi-lingual versions in Greek, Russian and Swahili, this global reach is expected to expand exponentially.  Readers are invited to use the Contact Us page to register their views on what is going on, and hundreds have done so, many with strong messages of support.

The fbmeltd.com website was launched by the owners of FBME Limited, which is the holding company of FBME Bank. Its purpose in creating the site has been to inform the public about events in Cyprus and suspicions over the motives of the Central Bank of Cyprus in foisting Resolution measures on the Bank’s Cyprus branch on 21 July.

The stated intention of the Central Bank, taken from its own website, was to “to sell the operations of the branch with the aim of protecting FBME depositors”. Since then it has been an essay in slow strangulation not just of the Bank but of its customers too. Where at first, FBME staff thought they could work with the Administrator put in by the Central Bank to run the branch, they soon found that he was going to do the minimum and say even less. Because he prevented FBME Bank from explaining to its customers, suppliers and correspondents what was going on and when things might change, the Bank’s holding company launched this website so that information might be made available in the public domain.

The Administrator believes in free speech. We know that because he told us so. He has not liked the criticism that the fbmeltd.com website has made both of him and of the Central Bank of Cyprus, but he always has the right of reply. The statements he has made we have been eager to carry on this website and we are happy to renew this offer: if he wants to put forward his point of view and if the Central Bank of Cyprus wants to explain any aspect of its actions, we will be happy to host them here on fbmeltd.com.