Still, the non-performing loans ratio fell slightly, to 42.7% as bank lending rose by €262m, to €46.6m, in the fifth month of the year, the supervisor said.

Household non-performing loans rose by €7.6m on a monthly basis in May, to €11.8bn, while those of non-financial corporations increased by €4.8m, to €8.8bn. The non-performing loans of other financial corporations rose by €1.6m, to €293.4m.

The central bank said in an emailed statement that the above figures do not include the sale of €144m in non-performing loans by Hellenic Bank to B2Kapital.

Non-performing loans in the system are expected to show a sharp decline over the next months in reflecting the €7bn in delinquent loans acquired by the government from the Co-op and the sale of €2.8bn of non-performing loans by Bank of Cyprus announced in late August.

Compared with May 2017, delinquent loans fell by €3.1bn against a €3.2bn drop in overall lending, according to the statement. Those of non-financial companies fell by €1.7bn and those of households by €1.2bn.

In May, the value of loans in arrears rose by €96.2m, to €15.7bn in a month, while those restructured dropped by €155.9m, to €11.1bn, the central bank said.

Non-performing exposures in probation rose by €10.4m, to €8.3bn, while accumulated provisions in the banking system rose by €30.1m, to €9.7bn.

Source: Cyprus Mail