Total new loans, bounced cheques fall

Total new loans issued by banks in November came to €263.3 million, compared to €281.4 million in the previous month, according to data released on Tuesday by the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC).

A breakdown by type of lending shows that new consumption loans came to €15.7 million, down from €14.4 million in October 2020.

Banks issued €96.6 million in new home loans, up from €83.9 million the previous month.

New loans to non-financial corporations (NFCs) for amounts up to €1 million came to €42.7 million, compared to €32.2 million, while new loans to NFCs for amounts over €1 million amounted to €96.4 million, compared to €137.2 million.

Regarding lending rates, the interest rate on consumer credit dropped to 2.96 per cent from 3.12 per cent.

The interest rate on loans for home purchases fell to 2.10 per cent from 2.14 per cent.

The CBC additionally released data relating to dishonoured cheques issued during 2020.

The year 2020 was also the first time the total value of ‘bounced’ cheques came to less than €1 million, the CBC said.

In December 2020, the value of bad cheques amounted to €51,231, while for the whole of 2020 their total value came to €741,700 – a decrease of €672,028 compared to the previous year.

The value of bad cheques in Cyprus reached its peak in 2009 when they amounted to €9,302,614.

In December 2020, 45 bad cheques were issued, and 454 throughout the year – compared to 914 in 2019.

As for the number of dishonoured cheques issued in 2020, this was the lowest since 2003.