Cyprus Business Now: BoC results, mortgage rates, NPLs drop
According to the bank’s latest financial results, €131 million of this amount was generated during the third quarter.
“We continue to generate strong financial and operational results and are well positioned to deliver sustainable earnings as economies transition to a declining interest rate environment,” said group CEO Panicos Nicolaou.
The bank also delivered a robust return on tangible equity (ROTE) of 22.9 per cent, and net interest income (NII) rose to €624 million, up 9 per cent from the previous year.
According to a report released on Tuesday from the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC), this brings the NPL total to €1.63 billion, down from €1.65 billion in July.
Total loans across the Cypriot banking system reached €24.05 billion by the end of August, slightly down from €24.13 billion in July.
The NPL ratio held steady at 6.8 per cent for the second consecutive month.
According to a report released by the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC), the general lending rate across all monetary and financial institutions in Cyprus rose from 4.33 per cent in August to 4.49 per cent in September.
Several major banks, including the Bank of Cyprus and Eurobank, increased their rates during the month.
In contrast, other banks, such as Astrobank and Hellenic Bank, recorded a slight decrease.
Variable interest rates for new housing loans from Cypriot banks in September were generally varied.
Cyprus is gaining momentum as a filming destination, supported by strategic efforts from Invest Cyprus to draw high-profile productions to the island.
According to the investment promotion agency, the are 13 major projects currently underway.
The current slew of projects include six films, six reality shows, and an English TV series, highlighting the impact of Cyprus’ audiovisual industry programme, which was initiated by Invest Cyprus.
“We could not have imagined this a year ago,” said Lefteris Eleftheriou, director and head of filming at Invest Cyprus.
EULEP refers to the European Learning Experience Platform, which brings together 20 organisations from 8 countries under the leadership of Eurochambres, the Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
This initiative, implemeted in collaboration with the Centre for Social Innovation (CSI), is co-funded by Erasmus+, the EU’s programme to support education, training, youth and sport in Europe. In total, the programme has an estimated budget of €26.2 billion.
Keve said that the goal of this project is to promote “lifelong learning and professional development across Europe”.
The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Tuesday, November 12 with marginal losses.
The general Cyprus Stock Market Index stood at 204.40 points at 11:53, reflecting a decrease of 0.03 per cent.
The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 124.49 points, reflecting a drop of 0.05 per cent.
The total value of transactions amounted to €241,385 at the aforementioned time during trading.
In terms of the sub-indexes, the main and investment firm indexes fell by 0.13 per cent and 1.40 per cent respectively. The hotel and alternative indexes remained unchanged.
The biggest investment interest was attracted by the Bank of Cyprus (+1.6 per cent), Hellenic Bank (-0.23 per cent), Petrolina (no change), Demetra (-1.42 per cent), and Atlantic Insurance (no change).