The Central Bank of Cyprus has published a quarterly report on the debt and assets of local households.
According to the report, household assets in the form of financial instruments rose to €56.3 billion by the end of March 2024, of which 56% was in cash, deposits and loans, 3% in securities, 24% in shares and 17% in other financial assets.
Household debt, on the other hand, fell to 19.6 billion euro. Meanwhile, the corresponding debt ratio stood at 65% of gross domestic product (GDP), a slight decrease compared to the previous year. Compared with December 2016, the household debt index fell to 51 per cent.
The assets of non-financial corporations totalled €68.7 billion at the end of March 2024, of which 17 per cent were cash and deposits, 5 per cent were loans, 1 per cent were securities, 45 per cent were shares and 32 per cent were other financial assets. The debt of non-financial corporations reached 39.3 bn euro. At the same time, the debt ratio was 130% of GDP, 10% lower than a year earlier. Compared to December 2016, the debt index of non-financial corporations decreased by 81%.
Insurance companies' assets in pure financial instruments decreased slightly to €5.2 billion, of which cash and deposits accounted for 8%, loans for 2%, securities for 30%, shares for 44% and other financial assets for 16%.
Correspondingly, the portfolios of investment institutions accumulated assets of €6.2 billion, of which cash and deposits accounted for 5%, loans and securities for 15%, shares for 79% and other financial assets for 2%.
Finally, according to the Central Bank of Cyprus, pension funds' investments in financial instruments totalled €4.2 billion. Of this: 16% was in cash and deposits, 15% in loans, 7% in securities, 54% in shares and 8% in other financial assets.