In December 2023, the interest rate for one-year term deposits from households rose to 2.29%, while the rate for consumer loans decreased to 5.88%, according to data published by the Central Bank of Cyprus today.

Specifically, the interest rate for term deposits of up to one year from households increased to 2.29%, compared to 2.01% in the previous month. The corresponding rate for deposits from non-financial companies decreased to 2.19%, compared to 2.29% in the previous month.

The interest rate for consumer loans decreased to 5.88%, compared to 6.26% in the previous month. Conversely, the rate for home purchase loans increased to 5.16%, compared to 5.04% in the previous month.

The interest rate for loans to non-financial companies for amounts up to €1 million decreased to 5.62%, compared to 6% in the previous month. The rate for loans to non-financial companies for amounts over €1 million recorded an increase to 5.73%, compared to 5.59% in the previous month.

According to the Central Bank of Cyprus, total new loans in December decreased, reaching €725.4 million, compared to €743.7 million in the previous month.

Specifically, new consumer loans decreased by 26%, dropping to €17.6 million (of which €14.8 million were purely new loans), compared to €23.8 million in the previous month (of which €21.3 million were purely new loans).

New loans for home purchases decreased by 32% to €161.4 million (of which €90.8 million were purely new loans), compared to €237.7 million in the previous month (of which €87.8 million were purely new loans).

New loans to non-financial companies for amounts up to €1 million decreased to €85 million (of which €57.6 million were purely new loans), compared to €91.5 million in the previous month (of which €42.4 million were purely new loans). New loans to non-financial companies for amounts over €1 million increased to €435.6 million (of which €150.2 million were purely new loans), compared to €381.9 million in the previous month (of which €99.7 million were purely new loans).

Moreover, the Non Performing Loan ratio stayed steady at 8.3% in November 2023, with NPLs slightly falling below €2 billion.

Specifically, out of total loan disbursements of €24.17 billion, NPLs amounted to €1.99 billion, down from €2.015 billion in October, falling below €2 billion for the first time. However, the NPL ratio to total disbursements only slightly decreased from 8.33% in October to 8.27%. Of the total NPLs, €1.56 billion are overdue for more than 90 days, with their ratio to total disbursements remaining at 6.5%, the same as in October.

Total restructured loans amounted to €1.7 billion, of which €895 million remain non-performing. The ratio of total restructured loans to total disbursements decreased to 7.2% from 7.5% in October.

Total accumulated provisions in November were €1.13 billion, of which €1.02 billion were for NPLs. The ratio of total accumulated provisions for NPLs to total NPLs increased to 51% from 50.8% in October.

According to the Central Bank, household NPLs amount to 10.5%, totaling €1.11 billion. Total restructured household loans were €633 million, of which €402 million remain non-performing.

Lastly, loans to non-financial companies amounted to €841 million or 7.1% of total disbursements to non-financial companies. Of these, €747 million belong to SMEs. In total, €1.04 billion in NPLs were restructured, of which €458 million remain non-performing.