Investment amid geopolitical and interest rate risks is on hold for now but businesspeople in Cyprus do apply for bank loans probably to use them as reserves and working capital.
This is what Philenews reported on Wednesday, citing the Central Bank of Cyprus’ Bank Lending Survey- July 2022.
This is likely to be related to the ever-rising energy and raw material prices and ongoing supply chain disruptions, it said.
However, banks have tightened their belts even more when approving credit. In fact, the criteria for granting a loan to all sorts of businesses in Cyprus in the second quarter of the year became stricter than in the previous one, it added.
The survey also showed that the worsening of the economic state of play worldwide and the “risk perception” factor in specific industries have contributed to the adoption of stricter criteria.
Moreover, the CBC clarified that – in addition to the increased risk perception by lenders – the prevailing uncertain environment and reduced risk tolerance also contributed to the adoption of stricter criteria.
Stricter criteria are applied to small, medium, and large enterprises.
Source: In-Cyprus