Bank Of Cyprus Clinches Tenth Consecutive Euromoney Award For Cyprus’ Best Bank

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

August 19, 2025

Unmatched Industry Recognition

Euromoney, the internationally acclaimed magazine focused on banking, finance, and financial markets, has once again recognized Bank of Cyprus as the best bank in Cyprus. This prestigious accolade for the year 2025 marks the tenth consecutive time that the institution has been honored with this title, affirming its leadership and excellence in the sector.

Benchmarking Operational Success

The award announcement, covering performance metrics from January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024, highlights several strategic milestones. Among these, a significant shareholder distribution of €241 million — nearly doubling the previous year’s payout — underscores the bank’s strong financial performance and commitment to shareholder value.

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Innovative Financial Strategy and Market Expansion

Demonstrating forward-thinking financial management, Bank of Cyprus has upgraded its distribution policy to target a payout ratio between 50 and 70 percent beginning in 2025. This period also saw the successful listing of its shares on the Athens Stock Exchange (ATHEX), a move that has not only enhanced the bank’s visibility but also improved the liquidity of its equity offerings.

Driving Digital Innovation and Sustainable Finance

The year 2024 was marked by a series of innovations that are set to redefine customer engagement and product offerings. Notable introductions include the digital housing loan and Fleksy, a buy-now-pay-later solution, alongside Joey, a tailored banking app for young customers aged nine to seventeen. Additionally, the launch of a comprehensive business-to-consumer marketplace on the Jinius platform has broadened the bank’s service ecosystem. In line with global sustainable finance trends, Bank of Cyprus also issued its inaugural €300 million green bond, paving the way for significant investments in sustainable projects across Cyprus.

A Forward-Looking Vision

CEO Panicos Nicolaou expressed his pride in receiving the award, stating, “It is an honour for Bank of Cyprus to be named Cyprus’s Best Bank by Euromoney for the 10th year. This international recognition reflects our determination to drive digital innovation, provide our customers with new products and services, lead the sustainable transition in Cyprus, and deliver value to our shareholders.” Nicolaou further emphasized the bank’s unified focus on supporting customers and the broader economy, while continuing to generate attractive returns for its investors.

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Copyright Law Struggles To Keep Up With AI Training

by News Editor

August 24, 2026

Courts Are Still Applying Old Copyright Rules To AI

AI companies train models on enormous amounts of published material, including books, articles and academic research. Whether using that content without authors’ permission violates copyright law remains unresolved.

Much of the debate centres on fair use, which allows copyrighted material to be used without permission in certain circumstances. Courts consider factors such as the purpose of the use, how much material was involved and its impact on the original market.

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Anthropic Case Sets An Important Precedent

A major case involving Anthropic and a group of authors provided one of the clearest rulings so far. Judge William Alsup found that using copyrighted books to train AI models was lawful, comparing the process to people reading and studying literature before creating something new.

Anthropic was nevertheless ordered to pay $1.5 billion in a settlement. The penalty concerned books the company had obtained from illegal online libraries rather than the AI training itself.

For AI companies, that distinction could prove significant because it separates studying copyrighted material from directly copying it.

Competition Could Be The Key Issue

A case involving Thomson Reuters and Ross Intelligence offers a different perspective. A court ruled that Ross could not claim fair use after using Reuters’ copyrighted material to develop a competing AI-powered legal research platform.

The decision suggests courts may be less willing to consider AI training fair use when copyrighted content is used to build a product that directly competes with the original.

For authors, an unresolved question is whether AI-generated content should be considered competition for the works used to train these models.

The Law Has Yet To Catch Up

US copyright law predates generative AI by decades, leaving courts to apply old principles to new technology. Questions also remain over copyright protection for AI-generated works. In Thaler v. Perlmutter, a court ruled that material created entirely by AI cannot receive copyright protection.

Major AI companies remain involved in copyright litigation, and different courts could reach different conclusions. For now, there is no universal rule: the legality of AI training will depend on the circumstances of each case and how courts ultimately interpret copyright and fair use.

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