S&P upgraded Bank of Cyprus to BBB- from BB+, outlook stable

Macro/Political
• The trade balance in December 2024 presented a deficit of EUR 3,094.7mn compared to a deficit of EUR 3,401mn in December 2023, recording a drop of 9%. The total value of imports amounted to EUR 7,126.2mn (-0.2% y-o-y) while the total value of exports was EUR 4,031.5mn (+7.8% y-o-y). The deficit of the trade balance, for the 12-month period from January to December 2024 amounted to EUR 34,614,9mn in comparison with EUR 32,070.9mn for the corresponding period of the year 2023, recording an increase of 7.9%.
Source: Elstat

Markets
• S&P upgraded Bank of Cyprus to BBB- from BB+, outlook stable. The agency stated that Cypriot banks have further reduced their dependence on less stable non-resident depositors and improved their loans-to-core-deposits ratio increasing funding stability in Cyprus’ banking system. Additionally, S&P believes the economic environment in Cyprus will remain supportive and banks’ efforts to improve efficiency will partially offset the impact from falling interest rates.
Source: S&P