Crisis’ consequences on recapitalization and exposure for Cypriot and Greek cooperative banks

Abstract

The financial crisis of 2008 transformed, in some countries, to economic and social one, created serious problems to the banking system. Capital basis and asset exposures, especially through the non-performing loans, have been the most important. Capital inadequacy caused the failure of banks that didn’t succeed to accomplish the capital requirements set by Basel II obligations. The treatment was not the same for all banks as only those considered as significant banks, for the economy, received capital aid from their state. The paper investigates through capital basis requirements and asset exposures the crisis’ consequences on Cyprus and Greek cooperative banks. The consequences were cataclysmic for the cooperative banking systems of the two countries. In Greece, the cooperative banks did not receive any state aid, leading to the bankruptcy of many of them. In Cyprus, once all the cooperative banks were merged into the central cooperative bank, the latter received state aid as it was considered as a significant bank for the national economy. Moreover, the high level of non-performing loans and the new economic environment that the crisis had caused, forced the cooperative banks to change their asset exposures structure and their credit policy.