Cyprus central bank chief fights back following criticism
Cypriot Central Bank Governor Panicos Demetriades hit back on Friday at President Nicos Anastasiades’s moves to sack him, saying criticism of his performance was unjustified and undermined banking sector confidence.
Anastasiades, frustrated over delays in approving the new board of the Bank of Cyprus (BoC) and Demetriades’s perceived failure to get a handle on saving the economy, wants him axed.
But in an interview with the semi-official Cyprus News Agency, Demetriades said he was being treated unfairly.
“In the last few months, the central bank has taken a lot of measures which have a positive effect on stabilizing the banking system,” he stated.
He said completing a plan for restructuring the cooperative banking sector, leading BoC out of resolution and strictly adhering to an adjustment program imposed as part of the island’s 10-billion-euro bailout were factors that earned praise from the Eurogroup and the IMF.
“Taking this into account I feel the criticism from the president was unjustified,” said Demetriades.
“Political interference in the supervisory role of the Cenral Bank of Cyprus… is not conducive to restoring confidence in the financial sector,” he added.
[AFP]
