New central bank data released today show signs of stabilization in the banking system, as both loans and deposits recorded a marginal drop.
Deposits in the banking system in December 2013 decreased by €165 million, according to the Central Bank. Despite the decline, deposits by Cypriots rose for the second consecutive month, while a small increase was observed in deposits of residents of third countries.
According to new Central Bank data, deposits in the domestic system in December 2013 decreased to €47 billion from €47,2 billion in November 2013 and €70,2 billion in December 2012.
In November deposits declined by €143,5 million and was the lowest in the past 11 months.
Deposits dropped by 23.1% in comparison with a decline of 22.6% in November 2013 and an increase of 1.2 % in December 2012. Deposits by residents amounted to €33 billion from €32,9 billion in November 2013 and €43,3 billion in December 2012.
According to the figures, deposits by third countries residents increased to €11,8 billion from €11,7 billion in November and €21,5 billion in December 2012 .
Deposits by residents of other eurozone countries including Greece fell to €2,3 billion from €2,6 billion in the previous month and €5,3 billion in December 2012.
Loans decline 7%
The CB data also reflect the difficulty in securing new loans due to the controls on transactions. All categories of loans follow a downward trend.
Consumer loans fell by 10.9% against a decline of 11.2% in November, while in mortgages the decline remained at 5.3%, as in November. Similarly, business loans dropped by 4.6% against a decrease of 4.1% in November.
Total loans in the system at the end of December 2013 stood at €63,1 billion from €63,4 billion in November 2013 and €72,5 billion in December 2012.
Loans decreased annually by 6.8% in comparison with a decrease of 5,6% in November 2013 and an increase of 1,4% in December 2012.