Big credit expansion in Cyprus

New loans provided by Cypriot banks rose by 217 million euros in September compared with August, driven upward mainly by corporate loans over €1 million that rose by €127.6 million.

Interest rates for consumer credit rose to a four-year high and rates for housing loans and corporate loans up to €1 million rose to a six-year high, in the context of the European Central Bank’s monetary policy normalization.

According to Central Bank of Cyprus data, new lending in Cyprus amounted to €478.3 million in September compared with €261.3 million in the previous month.

Consumer credit amounted to €15.6 million in September compared with €12.3 the month before, while loans for home purchases rose to €102.9 million from €79.2 million in August.

New lending to corporations up to €1 million rose to €54.1 million in September from €30.7 million in August, whereas new corporate loans over €1 million amounted to €295.9 million compared with €132.3 in the previous month.

Interest rates for households with an agreed maturity of up to a year came to 0.11% in September from 0.06% in August, the highest since July 2020.