The Cooperative sector is considering a reduction in interest rates on home loans, its Chairman said on Tuesday.
The Coop has recently announced rate cuts in student and agricultural loans.
“We are waiting to see the result of our recent actions related to students and agricultural loans”, Cooperative Central Bank chairman Nicolas Hatziyiannis told the press, after a meeting with the heads of the Troika (EU Commission, ECB, IMF).
“The Cooperative sector has acquired a new dynamic and moves in the right direction to tackle all challenges” he noted.
Hatziyiannis said that the reduction in interest rates will come as a result of loan restructuring and the increase in deposits.
According to him, the restructuring of loans in the Coops is accelerating, adding however that “it is very difficult and time-consuming effort”.
“We now have a clear picture of where we are and where we need to go” he added.
CCB chairman said that deposits in the Coops increased by around €300 million in the past three months, which he described as a “sign of trust” in the Cooperative sector.
However he noted that “deposits need to be channeled into the economy in the form of lending and this is something we are processing”.
CNA/GS/KD/MM/2015
ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY