POPULAR Bank - the island’s second largest lender - will be shutting down branches in Cyprus and Greece as part of a restructuring plan.
It announced that it will be making staff redundant and will continue shutting down branches.
Popular Bank has reportedly enlisted auditor KPMG to draw up a plan by the end of the month.
The bank needs €1.8 billion to recapitalise and has asked for state assistance to cope with significant losses after a Greek debt write-down at the end of last year.
In both Cyprus and Greece, the bank will shut down branches and cut wages.
In Greece, the bank will keep branches in urban areas and financial hubs, renegotiate rents, and reorganise staff structure.
About 65 branches are due to shut down.
Several hundreds of employees may be made redundant, Stockwatch, the online financial news portal, said adding that this was envisioned as a five-year plan.
One way of reducing staff may be by encouraging employees to take early retirement.
The Bank of Cyprus - the island’s biggest lender - is also due to change its communication structure to have top executive staff in Cyprus report directly to CEO Yiannis Kypri. Kypri took over from Andreas Eliades who resigned his post.
The Bank of Cyprus has asked for €500 million.
