| (1) | Paragraph 5 is replaced by the following:
‘5. With a view to restoring the soundness of its financial sector, Cyprus shall continue to implement the restructuring of the banking and cooperative credit institution sectors, continue to strengthen supervision and regulation in the context of the ongoing transition to the SSM, undertake a reform of the debt restructuring framework, and gradually remove restrictive measures in line with its roadmap, while safeguarding financial stability.
The programme shall provide for the following measures and outcomes:
| (a) | ensuring that the liquidity situation of the banking sector shall be closely monitored. The temporary restrictions on the free movement of capital (inter alia, limits on payments and transfers) shall be closely monitored. The gradual relaxation of the external restrictive measures shall be consistent with financial sector stability and preserve comfortable liquidity buffers. The Cyprus Central Bank (CBC) will conduct on-site inspections of the implementation of the restrictions, and take appropriate supervisory actions, as needed. Further liberalisation of external restrictive measures will only be considered by the authorities after the successful completion of the comprehensive assessment and a smooth transition to the SSM. The goal is that controls shall remain in place only for as long as is strictly necessary to mitigate serious risks for the stability of the financial system. After the result of the comprehensive assessment, the roadmap for the gradual relaxation of restrictive measures will be updated and published. The funding and capital plans of domestic banks relying on central bank funding or receiving state aid shall realistically reflect the anticipated deleveraging in the banking sector, and reduce dependency on borrowing from the central bank, while avoiding asset fire sales and a credit crunch; |
| (b) | adapting the minimum capital requirements, taking into account the parameters of the balance sheet assessment and the Union-wide stress test; |
| (c) | ensuring that any restructuring plans shall be formally approved under State aid rules, before any State aid is provided. Banks with a capital shortfall may, if other measures do not suffice, ask for recapitalisation aid from the State in accordance with State aid procedures. Banks with restructuring plans shall report on the progress in their implementation of the plans; |
| (d) | ensuring that the credit register is created and operational; |
| (e) | taking into account the transition to the SSM, ensuring the full implementation of the regulatory framework with respect to loan origination, asset impairment and provisioning; |
| (f) | introducing mandatory disclosure requirements to ensure that banks regularly communicate to authorities and to markets on the progress in restructuring their operations; |
| (g) | ensuring the revision of the governance directive, which will specify, among others, the interaction between banks' internal audit units and bank supervisors; |
| (h) | strengthening the banks' governance, including by prohibiting lending to independent board members or their connected parties; |
| (i) | ensuring the necessary staff and amendments in light of the new responsibility taken on by the CBC, including by ensuring a separation between resolution and supervisory functions, the transposition into national law of the Single Rulebook, including Directive 2014/59/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (5) and Directive 2014/49/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (6); |
| (j) | strengthening the management of non-performing loans, taking into account the developments and timelines of the SSM. This notably includes: a revision of the Code of Conduct and of bank arrears management policies and practices; the monitoring restructuring targets set by the CBC; measures to allow lenders to obtain adequate financial information on the financial situation of borrowers, and to file for, obtain, and realise an attachment of financial assets and earnings of delinquent borrowers; measures to allow and facilitate the transfer by lenders to third parties of existing individual loans, together with all collateral and securities, without having to obtain the consent of the borrower; |
| (k) | easing constraints on the seizure of collateral. This shall accompany the preparation of legislation on the basis of a comprehensive reform framework establishing appropriate corporate and personal insolvency procedures, as well as ensuring the smooth and effective functioning of the revised foreclosure and insolvency frameworks. In addition, once reformed, the new private sector debt restructuring legal framework shall be reviewed and additional measures shall be defined as needed; |
| (l) | completing the harmonisation of the regulation and supervision of cooperative credit institutions with those of commercial banks; |
| (m) | ensuring the Cooperative Group provides for timely and complete implementation of the agreed restructuring plan and takes further measures to improve its operational capacity notably in the areas of arrears management, Management Information System, governance, and management capacity; |
| (n) | continuing to further strengthen the anti-money laundering framework and implementing an action plan ensuring the application of improved practices with regard to customer due diligence and entity transparency, in line with best practice. |
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