Cyprus has emerged in recent years as an important regional hub, both economically and diplomatically.
According to the Turkish newspaper Aydinlik, at the core of this strategy lies Eurobank, which has now become the primary financial pillar of Greece in the area.
As is known, Eurobank, headquartered in Nicosia, recently acquired Hellenic Bank, making it the largest financial institution in Cyprus, with assets of €28 billion.
In this context, the group’s management is launching significant moves to expand its international activities, which are already yielding results.
It should be recalled that the Eurobank group has a balance sheet exceeding €100 billion and maintains loans of over €54.3 billion and deposits of €79 billion.
Diversification of revenue and geographic spread is placed at the forefront—indeed, 53% of net profits currently come from international activities (Cyprus, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, and London) and the target is to reach 55% by 2027.
Moreover, Eurobank CEO Fokion Karavias announced that the bank plans to establish representative offices in India, Israel, Abu Dhabi, and Saudi Arabia by 2026.
As Karavias emphasized, “Cyprus is at the core of Eurobank’s outward-looking strategy” and is expected to serve as a gateway for international capital into Europe.
Turkish reactions
Understandably, Eurobank’s decision to strengthen its presence in Cyprus and turn it into a hub for international capital appears to be provoking strong reactions in Turkey.
The island, with its stable economic infrastructure and strategic geographic location, is attracting investments and financial capital that traditionally flowed toward Turkey.
Turkish businessmen and investors seem to view Cyprus as an alternative, raising questions about Turkey’s prospects in maintaining control over international financial flows in the region.
The move by Eurobank is seen by some analysts as a genuine “thorn in Ankara’s eye,” as it highlights the shift of international capital preference toward more predictable, Western-oriented markets.
In this context, in his recent speech on 3 November, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan emphasized that Cyprus is being added to the “menu” of the new imperialist plan developing in the region.
He called on Islamic countries to strengthen their support for “the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” (i.e., the entity the Turks refer to as the pseudo-state), demanding greater assistance in the struggle of Turkish Cypriots for rights, freedom, and justice, based on a two-state solution.
At the same time, the Vatan Party (Patriotic Party) demanded immediate recognition of the TRNC as a means of ensuring stability in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The party’s president, Doğu Perinçek, stated publicly at a press conference that Cyprus constitutes “an unsinkable aircraft carrier that controls the entire Eastern Mediterranean, including Palestine and Syria.”
He also stressed that the concentration of American and Israeli ships in the region, which “threatens Turkey and the TRNC, increases tensions in the area.”
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