The Association of Cyprus Banks on Tuesday expressed its readiness to adjust interest rates tied to the European Central Bank’s (ECB) base rate immediately after the ECB’s forthcoming meeting on December 12.

“This move will directly impact the monthly instalments of their clients’ loans,” the association said in a statement.

The association pointed out that the ECB is set to hold its final meeting for the year, with the majority of central bankers indicating a likely new rate cut.

Cyprus saw its trade deficit shrink to €6.37 billion in January–October 2024, a significant reduction compared to €7.56 billion during the same period in 2023.

The improvement reflects a 12.3 per cent drop in imports, which fell to €9.76 billion from €11.13 billion, according to the latest foreign trade statistics.

This was accompanied by a more modest 5.3 per cent decline in exports, which stood at €3.38 billion compared to €3.57 billion in the previous year.

Cyprus contributed just €259 million to the European Union budget in 2023, receiving €393 million in return.

This positions the island country as a net beneficiary, reflecting broader financial imbalances across member states, according to European Commission data.

The EU budget operates on contributions and allocations among member states, with some paying more than they receive while others benefit from net inflows.

The ‘Big Four’ contributors—Germany (€33.8 billion), France (€25.8 billion), Italy (€18.8 billion), and Spain (€13.6 billion)—accounted for the largest shares of funding in 2023.

The Bank of Cyprus on Tuesday announced that it has been awarded the title of Bank of the Year in Cyprus for 2024 by The Banker, a leading international banking and finance publication.

According to the announcement, this award recognises the bank’s strong financial and operational performance, as well as the significant increase in the bank’s distribution to shareholders year-on-year.

Silvia Pavoni, The Banker’s editor in chief, said that “the Bank of Cyprus has spent the past decade transforming its operations, leading to the commendable improvement of its balance sheet and profitability“.

Pavoni also made note of the bank’s “new, interesting digital initiatives” and “its efforts to create more sustainable products”.

Almost three in ten Cypriots up to age 74 continue to work after retirement, the vast majority due to financial necessity, a new Eurostat survey has found.

The official retirement age is 65 but people who have completed their social insurance contribution can retire at 63 with a slightly lower pension.

According to Eurostat, the number of Cypriots who continue working after retirement comes in at 29.6 per cent, almost triple the EU average of 10.3 per cent.

The floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) Prometheas, which will form part of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) project at Vasiliko, is expected to sail for Cyprus from Shanghai any day now, Energy Minister George Papanastasiou said on Tuesday.

Papanastasiou was answering questions from journalists at the House when he said there would be news shortly.

“We expect in the coming days, perhaps even within the week, to hear about the departure of the Prometheus,” he said, adding that the final processes were being carried out for the ship to set sail.

The minister said the details were many and varied in terms of what still needed to be done.

The UK will support Cyprus in establishing a new National Sanctions Implementation Unit to crack down on illicit Russian finance flowing through Europe, Keir Starmer’s office announced on Tuesday, after his meeting described as historic with President Nikos Christodoulides in Nicosia.

“Only by working with like-minded partners can we protect our interests both at home and abroad. Together with the Republic Cyprus, we are stemming the flow of illicit finance through Europe to starve Putin’s war machine and protect global stability,” he said.

Starmer added that “the Republic of Cyprus has frozen £1.5 billion in Russian assets since Putin’s barbaric full-scale invasion of Ukraine, supporting the collective effort to choke Russia’s war machine.

A fast-track process for low-impact developments has come into force for building permits filed before July 1, the interior ministry announced on Tuesday.

The measure is being implemented by decree for low-risk residential units as part of a bigger overhaul of the system, the ministry said.

Instead of having to go through the entire procedure, these applicants can complete a special declaration form and submit it to their relevant local authority, which will examine the checked list of conditions within two working days either to reject or accept the application.

The Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) on Tuesday announced key deadlines for the implementation of the EU Instant Payments Regulation.

The EU’s Instant Payments Regulation is a new regulation that aims to accelerate the roll-out of instant payments in Europe.

The regulation, which entered into on April 8, 2024, covers credit transfers denominated in euro within the European Union.

Specifically, the CBC outlined what payment service providers (PSPs) must do, by when, and why compliance is essential.

The European Consumer Centre (ECC) Cyprus achieved a consumer satisfaction rate of 94.44 per cent for its case-handling services in 2023, according to its annual report.

The majority of complaints (54 per cent) were related to the product categories of clothing and footwear, followed by transportation at 22 per cent and other categories at 15 per cent.

In terms of purchase methods, e-commerce transactions accounted for the largest share of complaints (50 per cent), while 48 per cent were related to purchases in physical stores, and 1 per cent each concerned online platforms and other types of transactions.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Tuesday, December 10 with profits.

The general Cyprus Stock Market Index stood at 213.11 points at 12:55, representing an increase of 0.11 per cent.

The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 129.83 points, reflecting a rise of 0.12 per cent.

The total value of transactions amounted to €129,157 at the aforementioned time during trading.

In terms of the sub-indexes, the alternative and investment firm index rose by 0.84 per cent and 0.29 per cent respectively. The main index fell by 0.03 per cent while the hotel index declined by 0.33 per cent.

The biggest investment interest was attracted by the Bank of Cyprus (+0.22 per cent), Demetra (+0.29 per cent), Salamis (no change), Petrolina (+1.23 per cent), and Hellenic Bank (-0.42 per cent).