Safeguarding the financial sector and improving public finances are two sectors on which Cyprus must concentrate with a view to achieve fiscal consolidation, Central Bank Governor Athanasios Orphanides told the annual meeting of Finance Ministers and Governors of the group of countries represented at the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank by the Netherlands, held in Limassol from May 27 to 29.

Invited to comment on information for a triple notch downgrade of Cyprus` economy by Fitch international ratings agency, Orphanides said he was not aware of this information and that when the Central Banks becomes aware of a public announcement it looks into them and then comments on them.

Asked how Cyprus should address the financial crisis, Orphanides said that “we are facing great challenges, as the international economy and the Eurozone in specific“ that have to do with pressures on public finances and have a negative impact on banking systems.

“We are a small country with an extended, developed financial system, which we want to maintain, because it brings great wealth to our country, and we have to try to safeguard our economy and financial sector as much as we can,“ he added.