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Cyprus Mortgage Rates Surge As Eurozone Trend Diverges

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

February 13, 2025

The Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) has released data for December 2024, revealing a rise in mortgage and corporate loan interest rates, while household deposit rates also climbed. In contrast, the eurozone saw a downward trend, highlighting a growing divergence in financial conditions.

Key Takeaways

Mortgage rates up: Average housing loan rates in Cyprus hit 4.75%, rising from 4.50% in November, while eurozone rates dropped to 4.15%.
Corporate loans mixed: Smaller business loans slightly increased to 5.14%, while large corporate loans over €1 million declined to 4.70%.
Deposits yield more: Household deposit rates climbed to 1.78%, but corporate deposit rates fell to 1.74%.

Mortgage Rates: Cyprus Outpaces Eurozone

New housing loans in Cyprus became more expensive, averaging 4.75% in December, well above the eurozone’s 4.15%. Societe Generale offered the highest rate at 6.60%, while the lowest came from Housing Finance Corporation at 3.32%. Other key players included the Bank of Cyprus (5.35%), Astrobank (4.30%), and Hellenic Bank (4.27%).

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Corporate Loans: Small Business Borrowing Costs Rise

For new business loans under €1 million, interest rates increased slightly to 5.14%. The highest rate was 7.28% (Banque SBA), while the lowest was 4.66% (Hellenic Bank). Notably, Ancoria raised its rate by 0.83%, while most banks saw minor reductions.

For larger corporate loans exceeding €1 million, the average rate dropped significantly from 5.63% to 4.70%. Societe Generale charged the highest rate (6.07%), while Eurobank offered the lowest at 4.12%.

Deposits: A Mixed Picture

Household deposit rates rose to 1.78%, with Arab Jordan Investment Bank leading at 3%. However, corporate deposit rates declined to 1.74%, with the National Bank of Greece offering the highest at 2.38% and the Housing Finance Corporation the lowest at 0.52%.

What’s Next?

The rise in Cyprus’ interest rates signals tighter financial conditions compared to the eurozone, potentially impacting homebuyers and businesses seeking credit. Meanwhile, higher household deposit rates could offer better returns for savers. As 2025 unfolds, all eyes will be on the CBC’s next moves and how they align with broader European trends.

The AI Agent Revolution: Can the Industry Handle the Compute Surge?

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

March 28, 2025

As AI agents evolve from simple chatbots into complex, autonomous assistants, the tech industry faces a new challenge: Is there enough computing power to support them? With AI agents poised to become integral in various industries, computational demands are rising rapidly.

A recent Barclays report forecasts that the AI industry can support between 1.5 billion and 22 billion AI agents, potentially revolutionizing white-collar work. However, the increase in AI’s capabilities comes at a cost. AI agents, unlike chatbots, generate significantly more tokens—up to 25 times more per query—requiring far greater computing power.

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Tokens, the fundamental units of generative AI, represent fragmented parts of language to simplify processing. This increase in token generation is linked to reasoning models, like OpenAI’s o1 and DeepSeek’s R1, which break tasks into smaller, manageable chunks. As AI agents process more complex tasks, the tokens multiply, driving up the demand for AI chips and computational capacity.

Barclays analysts caution that while the current infrastructure can handle a significant volume of agents, the rise of these “super agents” might outpace available resources, requiring additional chips and servers to meet demand. OpenAI’s ChatGPT Pro, for example, generates around 9.4 million tokens annually per subscriber, highlighting just how computationally expensive these reasoning models can be.

In essence, the tech industry is at a critical juncture. While AI agents show immense potential, their expansion could strain the limits of current computing infrastructure. The question is, can the industry keep up with the demand?