The sale of shares in the Pancyprian Co-operative Society for Holdings and Promotion of the Co-operative Movement Ltd, whose principal objective is to establish the Pancyprian Co-operative Bank, will take place between 22 July and 17 November 2026, Panikos Hambas, chairman of the company’s board, said on Friday.
He was speaking at the company’s first official gathering in Nicosia, following approval of its prospectus by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission.
CySEC approved a public offer of up to 42 million new shares with a nominal value of €1 each. Interested investors will be able to purchase shares through the Athlos Capital platform, with a minimum purchase of 100 shares. The event drew a large turnout and was attended by MPs, party representatives, government representatives, members of local government, trade union representatives, representatives of the co-operative movement and business executives.
In his address, Hambas said the undertaking had been, and remained, difficult, “but not impossible”, adding that the socio-economic conditions for a new co-operative movement had matured.
“We must find the right chemistry so that the co-operative ideal of ‘one for all and all for one’ can operate within the new legal framework governing the banking sector, with people at the centre of our efforts,” he said.
He noted that transparency, democratic procedures, consensus and unity were the defining qualities of the Co-operative Society.
“Our organisation will stand out because it is being created by citizens for citizens, and by legal entities operating on the island,” he said. At the same time, he stressed the need for “prudent decisions” to ensure that loans granted would be sustainable and would not end up as “red”, or non-performing, loans.
Taking aim at Cyprus’s banking system, he said: “Our organisation will not follow the behaviour and practices seen in Cyprus today, where, while the European Central Bank is cutting interest rates, on our own island they are going up!”
He also said that, in 1960, the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus divided the co-operative credit sector into Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot sectors, while the commercial sector remained unified.
“Today, in 2026, the Turkish Cypriots retain the Co-operative Savings Bank of Limassol Ltd in the occupied areas, which is registered with the Central Bank of Cyprus. Unfortunately, since 2018 we have had no co-operative bank,” he said, noting that the Turkish Cypriot co-operative movement participates in the Brussels-based European Association of Co-operative Banks, “while we are absent”.
“We have a duty to put the flag of Cyprus’s co-operative credit sector back in the European Association of Co-operative Banks,” he said.
Describing the structure of the new Co-operative Bank, Hambas said a number of co-operative banks had been studied before deciding on the model to be followed.
“We created the Pancyprian Co-operative Society for Holdings and Promotion of the Co-operative Movement Ltd, in which the fundamental co-operative principle of ‘one member, one vote’ applies. This company obtained approval from CySEC for shares to be purchased by the public. It will hold 60% of the Pancyprian Co-operative Bank,” he said.
He added that the remaining 40% would be held by legal entities and companies from the co-operative sector.
For this reason, he said, a new company called the Pancyprian Co-operative Society would be registered in the coming period and, once the necessary licences had been secured, would be transformed into and renamed the Pancyprian Co-operative Bank.
Responding to questions from the audience about the timetable for establishing the Pancyprian Co-operative Bank, Hambas said that “we are currently working on the application to the Central Bank of Cyprus”, which, he explained, would be submitted simultaneously with the application to the European Central Bank.
Noting that the timetable for approval of the licences was not in their hands, he said a decision had been taken to begin preparations for the new company immediately, so that once the licences were approved they would be able to respond without delay and within the required timeframes.
Asked whether the new bank would have physical branches, he said that the former property of the co-operative movement had by now passed to the State. Without directly answering the question, he said the new bank would be “highly advanced” in technological terms “and people will be served”.
Kypros Protopapas, Commissioner of the Cooperative Societies and Social Enterprises, also addressed the event. He said that the Service he heads had supported from the outset the effort to establish a new Co-operative Bank “on a more modern and sound footing” and was assisting the initiative within the scope of its responsibilities.
He noted that the new venture was governed by legislation on co-operative societies, as well as legislation on public offers and prospectuses under CySEC’s remit and, above all, by legislation governing the business of credit institutions and related EU law. On that basis, the Central Bank of Cyprus and the European Central Bank would examine the application for a licence to operate as a credit institution to be submitted by the proposed Pancyprian Co-operative Bank.
A representative of Athlos Capital then gave a presentation on the share-purchase platform.
The Board of Directors of the Pancyprian Co-operative Society for Holdings and Promotion of the Co-operative Movement Ltd presented commemorative plaques to the descendants of the founders of the co-operative movement in Cyprus.
As Hambas said in his address, Ioannis Oikonomidis, Markos Charalambous and Michalis Papapetrou, from Lefkoniko, “sowed the seed of the co-operative idea in Cyprus and helped it flourish” in 1909. Later, Nearchos Clerides “raised the co-operative movement to a very high level in education” through school savings banks.
“It was the first organised and successful effort to free working people from usury, in the heart of the Mesaoria,” he said, adding that “their work inspires us, particularly today, and gives us courage”.
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