Kedipes makes €60 million cash payment to the state
State-owned asset management company Kedipes announced on Friday that a €60 million cash payment was made on June 26, as previously mentioned in the company’s most recent operational management progress report for the first quarter of 2024.
This payment pertains to the cash flows of the second quarter of 2024 and is part of the ongoing repayment of state aid received by the former Cyprus Cooperative Bank.
According to Kedipes’ statement, the total cash repayment amount for 2024 is projected to reach €200 million.
Since the commencement of Kedipes’ operations in 2018, the total cash repayment towards state aid has amounted to €1.36 billion.
Meanwhile, Kedipes chairman Lambros Papadopoulos said this week that borrowers are receiving approval letters for the mortgage-to-rent scheme, running from December 2023 to September 6, 2024.
Through the scheme, eligible applicants transfer their primary residence ownership to KEDIPES but continue to live there with rent paid by the state.
Moreover, Papadopoulos noted that 2,092 applications were received, with 1,448 deemed eligible, while approximately 3,000 households are estimated to qualify.
The process includes technical inspections and encumbrance arrangements, followed by property acquisition.
Borrowers’ loan obligations will be erased, offering a fresh start. After five years, they can repurchase their property at 65 per cent of its value.
Meanwhile, earlier this month, Kedipes reported cash inflows of €144 million for the first quarter of 2024.
Boosted by a loan portfolio sale to the Bank of Cyprus and a high-value property sale, first-quarter cash inflows rose by 11 per cent from the fourth quarter of 2023 and 35 per cent from the first quarter of 2024.
Excluding these sales, regular cash flows were €80.7 million, consistent with the first quarter of 2023.
Since 2018, cumulative inflows reached €2.24 billion. Net cash flows after expenses were €109 million for the first quarter of 2024, a 32 per cent increase from the fourth quarter of 2023.
In addition, total asset value stood at €6.42 billion at the end of the first quarter, with significant reductions in the nominal value of grants and protected assets under the Asset Protection Scheme.
The company also said at the time that it put €60 million to the side for future property purchases and recently saw 27 staff departures through a voluntary exit plan, aligning with its workforce reduction goals.