Cyprus loans reach EUR 57.5 bln, deposits at EUR 58.3 bln

Total loans advanced by banks and Cooperative Credit Societies at the end of November 2009 increased by 7.2% year-on-year to EUR 57.45 bln, but fell EUR 300 mln compared to EUR 57.7 bln in loans outstanding end-October 2009, according to the monthly Monetary Survey of the Central Bank of Cyprus.
Loans to domestic residents increased 5% YoY to EUR 44.8 bln in November but was flat compared to EUR 4.8 bln at the end of October. Loans to other euro area residents also fell to EUR 3.6 bln while to residents of rest of the world the total lending fell to EUR 9 bln end-November.
The decline in corporate lending was mainly responsible for the EUR 300 mln month-on-month decline in total lending. However, consumer lending and mortgages accelerated in November as banks introduced a range of competitively priced new products.
Of the total EUR 57.45 bln outstanding loans, EUR 44 bln were in euros while EUR 13.3 bln were in foreign currency of which the equivalent of EUR 7.3 bln were in dollars, EUR 400 mln in sterling, EUR 446.7 in yen and EUR 4.1 bln in Swiss francs.
Total deposits advanced by EUR 185 mln or 2.9% in November to EUR 58.3 bln, recovering back to levels since July. Domestic residents’ deposits reached EUR 41.63 bln, up by 3.7% yoy, whilst other euro area resident deposits fell 1% to EUR 1.2 bln and deposits by residents of rest of the world (mainly Russians) increased by 1.3% to EUR 15.48 bln.