CYPRUS: Restructuring NPLs at Cooperatives on track

The process of restructuring non-performing loans (NPLs) in the Cooperative Credit Institutions is fully on track, according to senior banking sources.
The percentage of non-performing loans in the Cooperatives reached 52.62%, or about €7 bln of the €13.28 bln loan portfolio, based on provisional data for May issued by the Central Bank of Cyprus. In the same month, the proportion of restructured loans stood at 3.92%,or just €520 mln.
The banking source said that restructuring NPLs began on June 1, which the troika of international lenders (IMF, EC, ECB) stressed as a major element of the Cypriot bailout programme.
The Cyprus government pumped in €1.5 bln to rescue the Cooperatives sector and now controls a 99.5% stake, with the aim to restructure it and return it to normalcy, while also helping the consumers and the small businesses traditionally relying on Coops for funding.