Awards for Excellence 2020
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Cyprus’s strict approach to tackling the coronavirus has meant the health crisis has been much less severe there than in many other states in Europe.
Bank of Cyprus played an especially important role in bringing private-sector aid to support what the government was doing in terms of the medical response and mitigating the social effects of the lockdown and quarantines. It’s chief executive is Panicos Nicolaou.
As the country’s biggest bank, Bank of Cyprus did all the things its peers have done across Europe such as delaying repayments, waiving fees and distributing state-backed loans to businesses.
What really stands out, though, is its #SupportCY programme in partnership with Reaction, a local charity the bank had previously worked with to help people affected by forest fires on the island.
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Panicos Nicolaou |
The starting point was the lender’s relationships with Cypriot businesses. This allowed the bank to marshal support from 59 organizations – ranging from local bakeries to the Cyprus Cycling Federation – to fill needs for medical relief, remote schooling and social care. The bank also provided one of its premises near Nicosia as a coordination hub.
“The problem was not so much money as getting our hands on the things that were needed,” says Michalis Persianis, the bank’s corporate affairs director. “We have an extensive network of customers and partners, so we could bring everything together.”
Charities and businesses therefore helped to source medical and personal protective equipment, disinfectant and meals for key workers, which in turn helped the ambulance service, hospitals and research clinics. Others provided tablets to home-school children, while organizations ranging from newspapers to orchestras helped create online educational resources.
Catering and car-hire companies, electronics distributors and others helped people in coronavirus quarantine procure food and other essential items. The bank also worked with a local oil company and others to cover the cost of repatriation flights for vulnerable Cypriots stranded abroad.
