Cypriot bank rapidly accumulated positions on Greek debt

Regulators asked Cyprus's largest bank to provide information about its ultimately disastrous holdings of Greek debt as long as three years ago but got no immediate response and did not follow up, Reuters quoted an external investigation as saying.A report seen by Reuters said that the recent investigation was hampered by "unnecessary delays" in getting documentation from commercial Bank of Cyprus - one of the banks at the centre of Cyprus's international bailout - and that some computers at the bank may have been wiped.A Bank of Cyprus (BOC) spokesman declined to comment, saying the bank had not been officially briefed on the report.The probe was conducted by professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal at the instigation of Cyprus's central bank. The company had a broad mandate to investigate the banking crisis affecting Cyprus, which eventually led to the island requiring a bailout from international lenders.