Bank of Cyprus says unscathed by global crunch

NICOSIA, May 14 (Reuters) - Bank of Cyprus BOC.CY (BOCr.AT) said on Wednesday it was unscathed by the global credit crunch, but said it had no immediate plans to expand into new markets.

The Bank, Cyprus's largest lender, posted a 55 percent increase in its 2007 group net profit to 485 million euros and restated its profit guidance for 2008 to 540 million euros, an 11 percent increase over 2007. It is scheduled to release its first-quarter results on May 28.

After a year which saw it launch full banking activities in Russia and clinch a deal to acquire a bank in Ukraine, the bank told shareholders on Wednesday expansion into additional new markets was not foreseen in the near future.

"We expect 2008 to be a year of entrenchment in (existing) new markets, further expansion of our network in Greece and an increase in market shares in Greece and Cyprus," outgoing chairman Eleftherios Ioannou said.

"Although expansion into new markets is not among our immediate plans we are looking at conditions in countries of an interest to us through the presence of representative offices so when we decide to proceed we know the conditions on the ground," he told shareholders at its annual general meeting.

Chief Executive Andreas Eliades said the bank was not exposed to risks from the American sub prime crisis, which has had a domino effect throughout the global financial sector.

"The Bank possibly has the most robust liquidity in the Greek and Cypriot markets because the main source of finance are its client deposits, which are increasing," Eliades said.

Board members elected local real estate businessman Theodoros Aristodemou as its new chairman. Ioannou stepped down after reaching retirement age.

(Writing by Michele Kambas, editing by )