28 Jan Ancoria Bank selects London-based Loizou & Co and Armila Capital as financial advisors and strategic consultants
Ancoria Bank has selected the London-based firms Loizou & Co and Armila Capital to recommend a series of strategic initiatives, lead its capital raising process and consider potential investment opportunities that will drive its growth within the Cypriot banking sector and abroad.
Due to its advanced technology, diversified customer base, strong management team, scalable and efficient operations, strong capitalisation and very strong asset quality with minimal existence of NPLs, Ancoria Bank is well positioned for future growth. Ancoria Bank is a technology-focused bank with strong digital operations founded in Cyprus with an EU-wide banking license. It launched operations in 2016 and as of the end of 2020, it had more than ten thousand customers and achieved a total operating income of EUR 6.2 million. For the same period, the bank had EUR 296 million of deposits and net loans of EUR 271 million. It employs 95 individuals across three banking centres in Cyprus.
To date, the main owner Mr. Sievert Larsson and other shareholders invested a total of EUR 60 million into the bank. Part of the investment has been utilised to develop a well-crafted user experience for individuals as well as businesses, using a state-of-the art technology stack available on smart devices and via APIs.
Ancoria Bank has also shaken up the provision of financial services in Cyprus by being the first to allow a fully digital customer onboarding without the requirement of the customer visiting a branch in person. Moreover, it was the first bank to offer contactless ATM services and online card transaction authorization via biometrics in a mobile app rather than via one-time passwords sent via SMS. Besides, Ancoria Bank is one of the early providers of personal financial management features and a suite of mobile payment features (including a money request functionality) in Cyprus. Therefore, Ancoria Bank, is justifiably considered the bank that revolutionised the Cyprus banking industry by being the first to offer a range of key digital features and services to its customers.
Ancoria Bank’s CEO, Ioannis Loizou, stated “Ancoria Bank’s aim and purpose is the introduction and adoption of new technologies that create a contemporary financial institution with a new culture, a new approach and a new relationship with its clients”.
Louis Loizou, Partner at Loizou & Co, said “Ancoria Bank is a true champion that combines innovative technology and a customer-centric approach in an era where the Cypriot banking sector is in the mist of legacy issues and spending millions on digital transformation. Ancoria Bank has a healthy portfolio and the digital infrastructure that establish it as innovative”.
Constantine Thanassoulas, Managing Director of Armila Capital, said that “the growth prospects of Ancoria Bank are expanding since the bank has shown in the last five years of operation that it can be the alternative choice to systemic banks.”
Loizou & Co
Loizou & Co is a London-based firm offering financial advisory and strategic consulting to high-growth companies. Its expertise ranges from mergers & acquisitions and capital raising to business strategy and digital solutions based on innovation and data analytics. Loizou & Co is involved with entrepreneurs and start-ups through its own incubator-accelerator program YNotLab.
Armila Capital
Armila Capital is a London-based FCA-regulated investment banking and asset management firm. It offers corporate finance advisory services with a focus on financial services, leisure and the healthcare sector to its network of institutional and private clients in the UK, Middle East and Continental Europe, with a particular focus on Southern Europe. Armila has recently completed a funding round from the UK Future Fund.