Cyprus consumer loan rates increase in July

The Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) has reported a rise in interest rates on consumer loans, which increased to 6.67 per cent in July, up from 6.18 per cent in the previous month.

This was part of the CBC’s latest release of statistics concerning the interest rates of monetary financial institutions (MFIs) in Cyprus.

In addition, the volume of new consumer loans also saw a significant increase, reaching €28.0 million in July, compared to €21.7 million in June.

The interest rate for loans intended for house purchases also experienced a slight rise, climbing to 4.59 per cent in July from 4.52 per cent in June.

It should be noted that in its report, the CBC detailed the average interest rates of Cypriot MFIs on deposits and loans in euros to residents of the Eurozone.

The report includes figures for new loan amounts to Eurozone residents for the reference month of July 2024.

In contrast to the rising loan interest rates, the interest rate for time deposits of up to one year from households decreased to 1.96 per cent in July, down from 2.17 per cent in the previous month.

Similarly, the interest rate for deposits from non-financial corporations dropped to 2.28 per cent, compared to 2.35 per cent in June.

The data also indicated that the interest rate for loans to non-financial corporations increased in several categories.

Meanwhile, for loans up to €1 million, the rate rose to 5.57 per cent from 5.45 per cent in June.

For loans exceeding €1 million, the interest rate jumped to 5.64 per cent, up from 5.33 per cent in the previous month.

The total amount of new loans issued in July 2024 experienced an increase, reaching €595.3 million, up from €514.9 million in June.

Specifically, new consumer loans rose to €28.0 million, of which €26.1 million were net new loans, compared to €21.7 million in the previous month, with €20.3 million as net new loans.

Loans for house purchases also saw an uptick, with new loans amounting to €134.3 million in July, including €100.7 million in net new loans.

This is up from €129.9 million in June, where net new loans totalled €107.1 million.

However, new loans to non-financial corporations for amounts up to €1 million declined slightly to €74.5 million, with €48.5 million being net new loans, compared to €77.8 million in June, with €53.9 million as net new loans.

Conversely, loans exceeding €1 million to non-financial corporations saw a significant increase, rising to €345.2 million in July, including €211.8 million in net new loans, from €272.4 million in June, where net new loans totalled €149.3 million.