Cyprus reports reversal in bank deposits

NICOSIA, May 29 (Xinhua): The Central Bank of Cyprus announced a reversal in bank deposits trend on Wednesday, indicating the economy is on the road to getting out of its crisis following its chaotic bailout of the eastern Mediterranean island a year ago.

The Central Bank said in a statement that total deposits in April 2014 increased by 266.3 million euros (US$339 million) in terms of monthly transactions, as compared with a decline of 247.2 million euros the previous month.

It also said that total loans in April 2014 decreased by 164.3 million euros, with the total amount of loans in April standing at 61.4 billion euros.

About 45 per cent, or just over 26 billion euros of outstanding loans in all banks, including cooperative credit societies, have been classified as non-performing as a result of the economic crunch which followed a 10-billion-euro bailout in March, 2013, by the Eurogroup and the International Monetary Fund.