Breaking news

Cyprus Banks Exhibit Robust Capitalization and Liquidity in Q3 2025, Says CBC

Strong Capital Base and Improving Asset Quality

The Central Bank of Cyprus has confirmed that local financial institutions continued to demonstrate robust capitalization, high liquidity, and improving asset quality in the third quarter of 2025. This positive development, evidenced by the latest financial soundness indicators, underscores the resilience of the Cyprus banking sector even amid evolving market conditions.

Capital Adequacy and Leverage Stability

In its report, the CBC noted that Cyprus’s credit institutions maintained strong capital positions relative to the previous year. The Common Equity Tier 1 ratio reached an impressive 26.1 percent, buoyed by sustained profitability that has fortified the sector’s solvency over recent years. Furthermore, the leverage ratio remained broadly stable, reinforcing the sector’s robust financial footing.

Marked Improvement in Asset Quality

Asset quality saw significant progress during this period, with the non-performing loans (NPL) ratio declining to 4.5 percent, the lowest figure since 2014. Utilizing the methodology outlined by the European Banking Authority Risk Dashboard, which accounts for loans and advances to central banks and credit institutions, this ratio further dipped to 2.3 percent by the end of September 2025, compared to 2.9 percent in June 2025. These improvements are largely attributed to ongoing efforts by Cyprus credit institutions to deleverage and enhance asset quality.

Credit Risk Mitigation and Profitability Trends

The report also highlights a decline in loans classified as Stage 2 – a category where credit risk is elevated, but defaults have yet to occur – to 5.8 percent of the total loan portfolio, significantly lower than the EU average of 9.4 percent as of June 2025. Increased coverage ratios for non-performing loans further testify to the sector’s ability to absorb potential future losses. Despite pressures from a diminishing interest rate environment, the sector’s profitability remains satisfactory, bolstered primarily by net interest income from a diverse array of assets, including advances, debt securities, and funds held with the European Central Bank.

Liquidity and Balance Sheet Strength

Liquidity conditions across Cyprus banks have remained robust, with liquidity ratios well above the minimum supervisory requirement of 100 percent and surpassing the EU average even amidst increased lending activities. Balance sheet structures continue to be dominated by loans and advances, cash balances with the ECB, and debt instruments on the asset side, while deposits and equity maintain their roles as the primary liabilities.

Conclusion

The latest financial data unequivocally demonstrates that the Cyprus banking sector holds a strong capital base, exhibits high liquidity, and is on a positive trajectory in terms of asset quality. Despite the challenges imposed by a lower interest rate environment, the sector continues to achieve satisfactory profitability levels, reinforcing its position as a pillar of financial stability in the region.

Copyright Law Struggles To Keep Up With AI Training

Courts Are Still Applying Old Copyright Rules To AI

AI companies train models on enormous amounts of published material, including books, articles and academic research. Whether using that content without authors’ permission violates copyright law remains unresolved.

Much of the debate centres on fair use, which allows copyrighted material to be used without permission in certain circumstances. Courts consider factors such as the purpose of the use, how much material was involved and its impact on the original market.

Anthropic Case Sets An Important Precedent

A major case involving Anthropic and a group of authors provided one of the clearest rulings so far. Judge William Alsup found that using copyrighted books to train AI models was lawful, comparing the process to people reading and studying literature before creating something new.

Anthropic was nevertheless ordered to pay $1.5 billion in a settlement. The penalty concerned books the company had obtained from illegal online libraries rather than the AI training itself.

For AI companies, that distinction could prove significant because it separates studying copyrighted material from directly copying it.

Competition Could Be The Key Issue

A case involving Thomson Reuters and Ross Intelligence offers a different perspective. A court ruled that Ross could not claim fair use after using Reuters’ copyrighted material to develop a competing AI-powered legal research platform.

The decision suggests courts may be less willing to consider AI training fair use when copyrighted content is used to build a product that directly competes with the original.

For authors, an unresolved question is whether AI-generated content should be considered competition for the works used to train these models.

The Law Has Yet To Catch Up

US copyright law predates generative AI by decades, leaving courts to apply old principles to new technology. Questions also remain over copyright protection for AI-generated works. In Thaler v. Perlmutter, a court ruled that material created entirely by AI cannot receive copyright protection.

Major AI companies remain involved in copyright litigation, and different courts could reach different conclusions. For now, there is no universal rule: the legality of AI training will depend on the circumstances of each case and how courts ultimately interpret copyright and fair use.

eCredo
The Future Forbes Realty Global Properties
Uol
Aretilaw firm

Become a Speaker

Become a Speaker

Become a Partner

Subscribe for our weekly newsletter