The liquidity and capitalisation of the Cypriot banking system is above the European Union average, said the President of the European Banking Authority Jose Manuel Campa on Tuesday, following his meeting with the President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace, in the presence of the Governor of the Central Bank of Cyprus Constantinos Herodotou.

In his statements after the meeting, Herodotou thanked the President of the European Banking Authority for accepting the invitation to visit Cyprus and added that there is close cooperation between the Authority and the Central Bank of Cyprus.

He recalled that the implementation of the moratorium on loan instalment payments during the first lockdown period of the pandemic was made possible thanks to the regulations adopted by the Authority and in cooperation with the Central Bank of Cyprus, thus safeguarding citizens under the given circumstances.

As for the meeting with the President of the Republic, Herodotou said that they discussed banking sector issues, as well as general economic and current affairs issues.

For his part, the President of the European Banking Authority said that liquidity and capitalisation levels of the banking system in Cyprus are above the EU average, describing them as very good, adding that at the same time banks have reduced non-performing loans to rates close to the EU average.

He added that European banks are adjusting to the current economic cycle with higher interest rates while continuing to provide support to the economy.

Campa also said that the European Banking Authority will publish the results of its banking sector stress tests at the end of the month, expressing the hope that these results will continue to provide confidence to the European citizens on the status of the banking sector.