On Friday, 27 September, the Central Bank of Cyprus released fresh data on loans and deposits for August 2024.
According to the country's main financial institution, the island nation's banking system recorded a significant increase in new deposits and a decline in loans.
Deposits
Total cash in deposit accounts at banks in Cyprus rose to €288.5m in August 2024, compared to a net increase of €164.7m in the previous month. The annual growth rate was 3.8 % compared to 2.9 % in July. Deposit balances reached €53.6bn in August 2024.
Looking in more detail, deposits of Cypriot residents grew by €194.2m. In particular, deposits of households and non-financial companies increased by €34.6 million and €46.8 million, respectively. Deposits of other domestic sectors increased by €112.8 million.
Loans
As regards total loans, a decrease of €74.9 million was recorded, compared with a net decrease of €7.2 million in July 2024. The annual rate of change in total loans reached 1.7 % compared to 2 % in July 2024. The total loan balance reached €24.9bn in August 2024.
It is worth noting that from January 2021 to April 2024, the maximum cash outflow from Cypriot banks occurred in March 2022 (€1.071bn), while the highest inflow occurred in December 2022 (+€586.3m).
Loans to Cypriot residents in August 2024 decreased by €72.2 million. Looking in more detail, loans to households decreased by €25.8m and loans to non-financial companies by €53.6m. Loans to the rest of the economy showed an overall increase of 7.2 million euros.