New loans in Cyprus saw a significant decline in January 2025, with total net new lending dropping to €318.7 million from €592 million in December, according to a report released by the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC).

The decrease was primarily driven by a sharp fall in business loans, while consumer and housing loans showed mixed trends.

At the same time, most interest rates saw declines, particularly for housing and business loans.

Net new consumer loans increased to €25.2 million, up from €16.9 million in December.

However, net new housing loans fell to €87.6 million from €95.5 million in the previous month.

Loans to non-financial corporations for amounts up to €1 million dropped significantly to €38.2 million, compared to €77.6 million in December.

The most substantial decline was seen in loans exceeding €1 million, which plummeted to €167.7 million from €401.9 million in the previous month.

Total new lending, including loan renegotiations, also declined, falling to €544.4 million from €736.2 million in December.

New consumer loans increased to €26.5 million from €17.9 million, while new housing loans rose to €132.6 million from €120.7 million.

Business loans saw significant reductions, with loans under €1 million dropping to €53.2 million from €90.6 million and loans above €1 million falling to €317.4 million from €499.8 million.

Interest rates showed a downward trend for households, while rates for large business loans edged higher.

The interest rate on consumer loans fell to 6.25 per cent from 7.20 per cent in December.

The rate for housing loans also decreased to 4.47 per cent from 4.75 per cent.

However, the interest rate for loans to non-financial corporations over €1 million rose slightly to 4.90 per cent from 4.82 per cent.

In the deposit sector, the interest rate on household term deposits of up to one year declined to 1.34 per cent from 1.79 per cent.

Meanwhile, the rate for deposits from non-financial corporations increased to 1.80 per cent from 1.73 per cent in the previous month.