Major leadership reshuffle at Cyprus financial regulatory bodies

The Cypriot Council of Ministers has officially confirmed a series of key appointments within the country’s financial regulatory ecosystem, finalizing a significant leadership reshuffle. Giorgos Karatzias has been appointed as the new Chairman of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) for a five-year term, succeeding George Theocharides, whose tenure concluded this month. Simultaneously, Panikkos Vakkou has been appointed as an Executive Member of the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC), filling the vacancy left by Karatzias.

In addition to the appointment of Karatzias, the Council of Ministers named Loucas Lagoudis as the new Vice-Chairman of CySEC and Andrea Mounti-Savvidi as a member of the Board, both for five-year terms. These changes represent a strategic realignment of expertise between the island's primary financial oversight institutions. The transition follows a two-year period in which Karatzias served as an executive member of the CBC, having previously left his position as CySEC Vice-Chairman in May 2024. Vakkou, who served as CySEC Vice-Chairman during that interim period, will now follow a similar path by moving to the central bank.

During his five-year term, the outgoing Chairman George Theocharides oversaw the modernization of Cypriot market supervision, the digital transformation of the commission, and the implementation of stricter compliance measures for investment firms. Industry bodies, including the Cyprus Investment Funds Association, have publicly acknowledged the professional contributions of both Theocharides and Vakkou, while the Central Bank of Cyprus has expressed its support for the new appointments and highlighted the continuity of the collaborative relationship between the two regulatory institutions.