• The total value of the properties is estimated at around €130 million

• The new category of buildings to be given to municipalities and communities are certified and in a "healthy" condition

Additional properties of the former Co-operative Central Bank (Co-op) are being transferred to state ownership in order to be granted to municipalities and communities, as provided for in the relevant decision taken by the Council of Ministers in 2018.

Following previous relevant decisions by the current Cabinet, the Minister of Finance, Makis Keravnos, submitted a proposal during yesterday's meeting of the body, according to which a number of buildings and offices of the former Co-op will be allocated to municipalities and communities.

The properties in question belong to Category "A" of KEDIPES (Asset Management Company), which, as is well known, manages all the assets of the former Co-op.

This category includes those building installations and offices whose condition is "healthy", meaning they do not require maintenance and, most importantly, they hold the relevant certificates from the competent state services, the Department of Lands and Surveys, the Town Planning Department, and local authorities.

It is worth noting that a large number of former Co-op properties lack basic permits, while others were found to be located either on government-owned land (halitiki land) or on Turkish Cypriot properties.

Properties considered "problematic" by experts have been included in Categories "B" and "C". Once they secure the relevant permits and undergo appropriate maintenance, they will be transferred to Category "A" so they can be utilized for local government needs, including occupied municipalities as well as community councils.

The value of the properties to be granted under the Ministry of Finance's new proposal is estimated at around €130 million.

It is noted that in 2019, the state acquired 309 properties from the former Co-op, valued at €82 million. The total value of the properties managed by KEDIPES that belonged to the former Co-op amounts to nearly €350 million.

The state had allocated €3.5 billion of taxpayers' money as part of the Co-op's recapitalization in 2013 and 2015 to prevent its closure. The "fatal" outcome was not avoided. It closed on August 31, 2018.

KEDIPES, which manages the portfolio of non-performing loans of the former Co-operative Central Bank and the remaining assets of the Co-op, has returned €1.8 billion to the state to date.

Apart from four properties that have already been allocated to government services, the rest will be given to local government authorities and communities.

In the Nicosia district, 93 properties will be allocated to six municipalities and 44 communities; in the Limassol district, 106 properties; and in the Larnaca district, 31. In the Paphos district, 58 properties will be granted, and in the Famagusta district, 17.

The properties granted to local government authorities are in the form of a lease against a symbolic fee, equal to 0.3% of the property's acquisition price.

Source: Brief