Bank of Cyprus chairman resigns

The chairman of the Bank of Cyprus has resigned in the wake of an international bailout deal that hits the island's biggest lender, state media reported on Tuesday. The Cyprus News Agency said the bank's chairman Andreas Artemis had tendered his resignation and it would go before the board later in the day. The bailout agreed in Brussels in Monday hits investors with deposits of over 100,000 euros at both Bank of Cyprus and at Laiki, the island's number two lender, and calls for the effective wrapping up of Laiki. Local news website Stockwatch said Artemis had resigned because of the condition in the 10-billion-euro bailout that the Bank of Cyprus would have to absorb Laiki's debts. He also cited the appointment of an administrator for the Bank of Cyprus without first informing the group's management and the sale of the bank's branches in Greece, Stockwatch said. The Cyprus central bank said earlier on Tuesday that it had appointed Dinos Christofides as a special administrator to "implement the restructuring of the Bank of Cyprus". All of Cyprus's banks remained closed for an 11th day on Tuesday after the central bank put back their planned reopening until Thursday.