Bank of Cyprus reports €118 million post-tax profit in second quarter
The Bank of Cyprus on Tuesday released its results for the second quarter, reporting post-tax profits of €118 million, maintaining the same level as the previous quarter.
For the first half of 2025, the bank posted a net profit of €235m, reflecting a 13 per cent decrease compared to the first half of 2024.
According to the financial results announced on Tuesday for the six months ending June 30, 2025, the Return on Tangible Equity (ROTE) stood at 18.4 per cent, surpassing the bank’s 2025 target. The basic earnings per share reached €0.54.
The ratio of non-performing loans (NPLs) to total loans decreased to 1.7 per cent, while the Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio and total capital adequacy ratio (calculated for supervisory purposes) stood at 20.6 per cent and 25.8 per cent, respectively.
Total equity, excluding minority interests, amounted to €2.79 billion on June 30, 2025, compared to €2.92 billion on March 31, 2025, and €2.81 billion on December 31, 2024.
Additionally, the bank’s retail-dominated deposit base grew by 6 per cent year-on-year, reaching €20.9 bn on June 30, 2025, up from €20.70 bn on March 31, 2025, and €20.51 bn on December 31, 2024. Deposits increased by 2 per cent since the start of the year.
As of June 30, 2025, customer deposits were predominantly from individuals, with around 55 per cent of deposits covered by the deposit guarantee fund.
Customer deposits accounted for 77 per cent of total assets and 86 per cent of total liabilities on June 30, 2025, compared to 77 per cent of total assets and 87 per cent of total liabilities on December 31, 2024.
What is more, the Bank of Cyprus announced strong new lending of €1.6 bn in the first half of 2025, marking a 31 per cent year-on-year increase.
This was mainly driven by demand for business loans and international operations loans.
The bank’s serviced loan portfolio amounted to €10.66 bn, up 5 per cent from the beginning of the year.
Net interest income for the first half of 2025 totalled €368m, compared to €420m for the first half of 2024, a decrease of 12 per cent year-on-year.
Net interest income for the second quarter of 2025 was €182m, down by 2 per cent compared to €186m in the first quarter of 2025.
In a written statement, the CEO of the Bank of Cyprus, Panicos Nicolaou, said that the bank continued to show strong performance in the first half of 2025, with post-tax profits of €235m.
He highlighted that the Return on Tangible Equity (ROTE) remained high at 18.4 per cent, exceeding the bank’s target for 2025.
This performance was supported by strong new lending and improved liquidity.
Moreover, the serviced loan portfolio grew by 5 per cent from the beginning of the year, driven mainly by increased demand for business loans and international operations loans.
“We expect to exceed our target for a 4 per cent increase in the serviced loan portfolio for 2025,” he added.
Furthermore, Nicolaou stated that “our business model remains effective, with a cost-to-income ratio of 36 per cent, while the quality of our loan portfolio remains strong, with the NPL ratio decreasing to 1.7 per cent, and the credit impairment charge for loans at 36 basis points for the first half of 2025″.
“Considering our strong performance in the first half of 2025, we expect to achieve a Return on Tangible Equity (ROTE) towards the upper end of the mid-teens range for 2025, through the implementation of our strategy, leveraging our capabilities, despite the normalisation of interest rates,” he said.
“Similarly, we expect to surpass our target for Return on Tangible Equity (calculated on a CET1 ratio of 15 per cent) to high-teens levels,” he added.
Regarding the Cypriot economy, Nicolaou remarked that “it remains strong and continues to exhibit a healthy growth rate, surpassing the Eurozone average, despite the ongoing global economic uncertainty.”
He added that Cyprus’ growth rate for 2025 is expected to reach 3 per cent, compared to 0.9 per cent for the Eurozone.
Moreover, according to the financial results, total revenue for the first half of 2025 amounted to €509m, down by 7 per cent year-on-year from €549m in the first half of 2024, mainly due to the decrease in net interest income.
At the same time, total revenue for the second quarter of 2025 stood at €254m, remaining stable on a quarterly basis.
Non-interest income for the first half of 2025 was €141m, up 10 per cent compared to €129m in the first half of 2024. This increase was driven by net fee and commission income of €88m.
It was also supported by net foreign exchange trading income and net income from financial instruments amounting to €18m, as well as a net result from insurance activities of €24m.
Additionally, the bank recorded net gains from the revaluation and sale of investment properties and property inventories amounting to €5m, along with other income of €6m.
Total expenses for the first half of 2025 amounted to €197m, up 6 per cent year-on-year from €186m in the first half of 2024.
Of this, 53 per cent relates to staff costs (€105m), 39 per cent to other operating expenses (€76m), and 8 per cent to the special tax on deposits and other fees/contributions (€16m).
According to the Bank of Cyprus, the annual increase was mainly due to higher staff costs and increased other operating expenses.
Moreover, total expenses for the second quarter of 2025 amounted to €102m, compared to €95m in the first quarter of 2025, a 7 per cent increase on a quarterly basis, mainly due to higher staff costs.
Operating expenses for the first half of 2025 totalled €181m, up 8 per cent year-on-year from €167m in the first half of 2024.
Operating expenses for the second quarter of 2025 amounted to €94m, compared to €87m in the first quarter of 2025, an increase of 7 per cent on a quarterly basis, primarily due to higher staff costs.
Recently, the group participated in the 2025 Stress Test exercise conducted by the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) as one of the “Other Significant Institutions” of the SSM.
It added that based on the results of the 2025 SSM Stress Test conducted in August 2025, the bank showed “significant improvement compared to the previous exercise in 2023, as a result of its strong capital position, strong organic capital generation and profitability, as well as its resilient business model.”
The Bank of Cyprus stated that it was placed in the top category based on the maximum reduction in Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital resulting from the supervisory stress test.
The results of the group regarding both the maximum reduction in Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital and the CET1 ratio at the end of the adverse scenario horizon compared favourably with the average results of 96 banks that participated in the ECB’s stress test.