Bank of Cyprus increases Q4 provisions, cites Russia’s economy

By Stelios Orphanides

Bank of Cyprus said it will increase provisions for the fourth quarter of 2014 to reflect deteriorating economic conditions in Russia where the lender has operations.

“The charge for the fourth quarter of 2014 is expected to be a little over two times the average of the previous quarterly charges for 2014,” the lender said in an emailed statement today. “This charge will bolster the bank’s prudence, improve provisioning coverage levels and better align some of the bank’s methodologies to take account” of the European Central Bank’s asset quality review observations.