An extraordinary Annual General Meeting approved Bank of Cyprus’ return to the Athens Stock Exchange (Athex) with a concurrent de-listing from the London Stock Exchange by an almost absolute majority, with Takis Arapoglou, President of the Board of Directors, stating that the Athex re-listing “is the next step in our journey to enhance further the Bank’s profile.”

The two resolutions were approved by 99.98% of the valid votes, the bank said in a press release. The trading in Athex is expected to begin by September 23, whereas he de-listing from LSE, for which no Shareholder approval was required, will take effect on September 18.

Bank of Cyprus’, the islands largest lender was listed in London Stock Exchange in 2017 with a concurrent delisting from ATHEX.

“Clearly our listing on the London Stock Exchange played a critical role in providing the Bank with international visibility and credibility during the transformation. However, the Board of Directors believes that delisting from the LSE and re-listing our shares on the Athens Stock Exchange has the potential to enhance the liquidity of our shares and the Group’s market visibility among a broader group of relevant investors for the benefit of shareholders and BoC” Arapoglou told the extraordinary AGM.

Arapoglou said the bank has “now completed the transformation into a strong bank with a high-quality balance sheet, ample capital and liquidity, and sustainable recurring profitability,” allowing the return of dividend distribution and the launching of a share buyback programme “and a dividend policy, which is both ambitious and sustainable.”

Advocating “strongly” for the return to Athex, Arapoglou outlined four factors supporting the re-listing.

Namely that it would increase awareness of BoC among a broader range of institutional and retail investors, allow easier comparison with the big four Greek banks which we consider as our closest peers, provide greater access to capital from investors who are active on ATHEX, while over time will enable BoC to become eligible for inclusion in additional equity indices.

The Bank of Cyprus said that the re-listing to Athex will take effect by September 23, whereas de-listing from LSE will be effective as of September 18. The bank’s shares will continue trading also in the Cyprus Stock Exchange.