Ackermann Proposed as Bank of Cyprus Chairman in Return to Stage
Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) — Josef Ackermann, the former chief executive officer of Deutsche Bank AG, was proposed as non- executive chairman of Bank of Cyprus Pcl, the lender recapitalized as part of the country’s rescue.
The 66-year-old was one of 10 individuals picked for election to the board of directors at the Nicosia-based company’s annual shareholder meeting next month, investors Wilbur Ross and Tyrus Capital LLP said in a statement today. Ross, 76, and Vladimir Strzhalkovskiy, vice chairman of Bank of Cyprus, were proposed as deputies to Ackermann, according to the statement.
For Ackermann, who left Deutsche Bank in 2012, the move marks a return to the financial services industry after he stepped down as chairman of Zurich Insurance Group AG last year when the finance chief, Pierre Wauthier, mentioned him in a suicide note. Ackermann has dismissed the idea that he had any bearing on the suicide. He later left the boards of Siemens AG and Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
As part of the country’s 10 billion-euro ($12.6 billion) rescue package in 2013, Bank of Cyprus absorbed a competitor and was recapitalized through the conversion of deposits into equity. Existing shareholders were almost completely wiped out and depositors were left with the majority of the bank’s stock. The bank has now lured backing from investors in Europe, the U.S., Russia and Cyprus in a 1 billion-euro capital increase.
Ross and Tyrus, shareholders in the lender, also nominated John Hourican, the CEO of Bank of Cyprus, to the board, according to the statement.
To contact the reporter on this story: Nicholas Comfort in Frankfurt at ncomfort1@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Elisa Martinuzzi at emartinuzzi@bloomberg.net Frank Connelly, Cindy Roberts
