Cyprus loans up 35% until August

Widening spreads on borrowing applied by Cyprus banks and a global credit crunch have failed to dent the appetite of Cypriots to borrow, with the latest figures from the August 2008 Monetary Survey of the Central Bank of Cyprus showing that total loans reached EUR 49.79 bln recording an increase of 34.9% year-on-year and 1.8% month-on-month.

Total loans to domestic residents reached EUR 40.89 bln, up by 29.7% YoY and 1.2% MoM, while loans to other euro area residents reached EUR 1.02 bln, recording an increase of 25.3% YoY and 2.2% MoM.

According to the Survey, total deposits stood at EUR 56.35 bln, up by 13.3% YoY and 1.3% MoM. Domestic resident deposits amounted to EUR 39.97 bln, up by 30.65% YopY and 0.1% MoM, while deposits from foreign residents (rest of the world) reached EUR 15.24 bln, down by 14.4% YoY but up 3.9% MoM.