New credit granted by Cypriot banks dropped by almost 50% compared with the previous month, pushed downward by a sizeable reduction in new housing loans.
According to data published by the Central Bank of Cyprus total new “fresh” credit in April amounted to €193.6 million compared with €378 million the month before, marking a monthly drop of 49%. Compared with April of last year, new loans dropped by 1.4%.
All new loan categories as reported by the CBC dropped compared with the previous month with housing loans and loans over €1 million, which represent the largest loan categories, marking sizeable reductions.
New consumer credit in April amounted to €11.4 million, compared with €12.3 million in March, while housing loans dropped to €64.8 million compared with €195.2 in the previous month. The drop may be attributed to the Easter holidays as well as the price hikes in raw materials which pushed house prices upwards.
New credit up to €1 million amounted to €44.4 million compared with €68.3 million in the previous month, while new loans over €1 million declined to €66.9 million compared with €95.4 million in March.
Total restructured loans for which new loan contracts have been signed amounted to €71 million in April compared with €128.7 million in the previous month.
Source: Cyprus News Agency