Vakkou expected to join Central Bank as executive director

Nicosia, Cyprus. Panikkos Vakkou is expected to move from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) to the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) as an executive director, in a reshuffle that would see him again succeed George Karatzias.

Karatzias is expected to leave his executive role at the Central Bank and return to CySEC as its new chairman. The appointments have not yet been formally confirmed, with an announcement expected after Thursday’s Cabinet meeting.

Expected appointments

Vakkou has served as CySEC vice-chairman since May 2024 and is expected to take the Central Bank position vacated by Karatzias.

When Karatzias left CySEC in May 2024 to become an executive member of the Central Bank board, Vakkou was appointed to succeed him as vice-chairman of the securities regulator.

The Central Bank’s current board lists Karatzias and Evgenia Christodoulou as its two executive members, alongside Governor Christodoulos Patsalides and non-executive members.

Professional background

Karatzias joined the Central Bank board in May 2024 after serving as CySEC vice-chairman from September 2021.

Vakkou first joined the CySEC board as a non-executive member in January 2024 before being elevated to vice-chairman on May 29 that year.

His professional background includes banking, credit risk, financial technology and regulatory supervision. Before joining CySEC full-time, he served as Director of Operations and Credit Risk Manager at Haogen Technologies from September 2022 to May 2024, according to his CySEC biography.