Cyprus's outgoing central bank chief, Panicos Demetriades, has hit back after the government accused him of mishandling the island's near economic collapse, as the Cypriot president, Nikos Anastasiades, wasted no time in appointing a replacement.

The centre-right leader, who had been openly at war with the bank chief, said he would install auditor-general Chrystalla Georghadji to the post just 15 hours after Demetriades resigned.

As it emerged that he had received a €250,000 payoff, Demetriades issued a statement that cited "personal and family reasons" for his resignation and rejected claims he had failed to take adequate steps before the island's banking collapse last spring.

"It was a privilege to serve as governor of the CBC. During my tenure my actions were always aimed at ensuring confidence and stability in our financial system and I always acted in the best interests of our country," he said.

His replacement, Georghadji, is a seasoned technocrat educated in the US and UK who has gained a reputation as a no-nonsense figure at the head of an anti-corruption watchdog that regularly reports on misuse of public funds.

She has advocated scaling back the island's public sector and pressing ahead with the overhaul of its near-defunct banking system, which is likely to please mission chiefs representing the bailed-out country's lenders at the EU, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund. The 58-year-old will officially assume the role on 11 April, a day after Demetriades leaves the post. The presidential palace said ECB head, Mario Draghi, who had previously expressed disquiet over Anastastiades' handling of CBC governor , had been informed of the appointment.

Demetriades was appointed by Anastasiades's communist predecessor Demetris Christofias, also widely blamed for his handling of the crisis.