CBC taking action to strengthen confidence in the financial system

The Central Bank of Cyprus has stressed its commitment to creating a financial environment that respects the citizen-consumer and serves the common good, in a statement issued on the recent occasion of World Consumer Day.

It added that CBC's strategy for the period 2025-2026 has put the citizen at the centre, setting the goal of becoming a leading institution in terms of offering services to the citizens.

"The citizen-consumer generally benefits from the actions of the CBC, directly and indirectly, through initiatives and actions to educate and inform consumers for better handling of their finances. The CBC's decisive involvement in the promotion of Financial Literacy in Cyprus is characteristic, as it chairs and coordinates the actions of the Cyprus Financial Literacy and Education Committee”, is its noted.

At the same time, it continues, in July 2024, the CBC started the monthly publication of deposit and lending rates by bank. With this action, the CBC says it is enhancing transparency and enabling citizens to compare the average deposit and lending rates offered by domestic banks, thus encouraging healthy competition among banks and giving consumers the opportunity to make more informed decisions.

The Code of Conduct Guide issued by the CBC and must be applied by credit institutions and credit management companies, it is added, helps borrowers understand their rights and also their obligations if they struggle with their mortgage payments.

At the same time, the CBC promotes the payment account with basic features ('the basic account') as an important tool for consumers. The basic account, it is noted, allows access to basic banking services with the minimum possible fee (annual cap on total charges equal to €36), thus facilitating vulnerable groups and ensuring access to basic financial services for all. It is added that over 113,000 consumers had taken advantage of this option by the end of 2024, compared to 37,000 in 2021.

World Consumer Day 2025 is dedicated to fair transitions and sustainable lifestyles, with the effective management of climate change risk being a priority for the CBC, as well as for the ECB’s Single Supervisory Mechanism, it is added.

At the same time, the statement continues, the CBC has already incorporated sustainable and responsible investment approaches into its Investment Policy governing its investment portfolios, such as the gradual increase of its investments in green bonds, while the CBC and the ECB, as supervisors, have taken a number of actions and provided instructions to banks to improve their resilience and preparedness to deal with climate and environmental risks, the statement concludes.

World Consumer Day was on Saturday, 15 March.

(Source: CNA)