From January to September, Bank of Cyprus' net profit after all taxes totalled €401 million, compared to €349 million a year earlier.
This was announced by the management of Cyprus' main financial institution on Monday 11th November.
The performance of Bank of Cyprus from January to September has been excellent. We are satisfied with the results as we have achieved a good performance, which demonstrates the viability of our business model - said the bank's CEO Panicos Nicolaou.
Nevertheless, the bank's profit fell to € 131 million in the third quarter, compared with € 137 million in the second quarter. Return on tangible equity (ROTE) was 22%. Provisions fell to € 60 million from € 102 million a year earlier. Credit losses totalled € 6 million in the third quarter of 2024, compared with € 9 million in the second quarter of 2024 and € 7 million in the first quarter of 2024.
Bank of Cyprus's net interest income for the nine months ended 30 September 2024 was €624 million (+9%), compared with €572 million in January-September 2023. This year-on-year increase was mainly due to higher interest rates on liquid assets and loans, as well as ample liquidity, partially offset by low growth in term deposits and funding costs, as well as higher costs related to hedging activities.
In turn, the net interest margin was 3.6% (compared to 3.32% in the corresponding nine months of 2009), an increase of 28 basis points year-on-year, mainly due to higher interest rates compared to the previous year. Non-interest income for the nine months ended 30 September 2024 was € 204 million (-9%), compared to € 224 million for the nine months ended 30 September 2023. In addition, net fee and commission income for the nine months was € 131 million (-3%) and net income from foreign exchange trading was € 27 million (-5%).
Bank of Cyprus's total expenses for the first nine months of 2024 increased to €292 million (+5%), compared to €278 million for the corresponding nine months of 2023.
Of this: 52% was attributable to staff costs (€151 million), 39% to other operating expenses (€115 million) and 9% to special tax on deposits and other fees/contributions (€26 million). Total operating expenses for the nine months totalled € 266 million (+7%), compared with € 248 million for the corresponding period of the previous year.
The Group's total customer deposits increased to € 19.9 million from € 19.7 million in the second quarter of 2002. Loans totalled € 10.2 million compared to € 10.3 million in the previous quarter. At 30 September 2024, the Group's liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) was 312% (compared to 304% at 30 June 2024 and 359% at 31 December 2023), well above the regulatory minimum of 100%.