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Hellenic Bank Cuts Reference And Product Rates Ahead Of August 2025

Hellenic Bank has announced a strategic reduction in its reference interest rate, lowering it from 1.42% to 1.18% effective August 18, 2025. This move is part of a broader recalibration that affects all fundamental interest rates, reflecting the bank’s ongoing commitment to aligning its credit offerings with market realities.

Reshaping Interest Rates Across Key Products

In its latest update, Hellenic Bank detailed adjustments across various lending products. The revised rates are as follows:

  • Core Interest Rate: reduced from 4.18% to 3.94%
  • Business Loans: decreased from 3.18% to 2.94%
  • Business Overdrafts: lowered from 3.18% to 2.94%
  • Mortgage Loans: adjusted from 2.58% to 2.34%
  • Rate-Linked Mortgage Products: adjusted from 3.43% to 3.19%
  • Main Base Rate: reduced from 1.42% to 1.18%

Furthermore, this decline applies to lending rates inherited from the former Cooperative Cypriot Bank and credit facilities under Gordian Holdings Ltd., which will also decrease by 0.24%.

Implications For Affected Clients

The new rates impact all credit facilities priced under the updated structure, as well as those transitioned from the prior institutions. However, specific contractual scenarios remain unchanged: loans with a definitive maturity date for the final installment will not be altered, and instruments featuring a minimum interest rate (floor) will not automatically see a reduction. Customers with unique pricing agreements should refer to their specific terms to understand the changes fully.

Next Steps For Customers

Hellenic Bank advises clients to review the details of their credit agreements and to seek further clarification from branch representatives if necessary. This proactive measure ensures that borrowers are well-informed and can assess the impact of the adjustments on their financial obligations.

Meta’s Muse Is Outpacing ChatGPT In Early Mobile Adoption, New Data Suggests

Meta’s new AI app, Muse, may be emerging as one of the company’s strongest consumer launches to date. Fresh estimates from market intelligence firm Apptopia suggest the app has outperformed ChatGPT in early mobile traction, at least in the U.S. and Canada.

According to Apptopia, Muse recorded more downloads in its first 12 days on the market than ChatGPT did during the comparable period after its mobile debut. The comparison, limited to the U.S. and Canada, puts Muse’s iOS downloads at 1.8 million versus 1.3 million for ChatGPT over the same initial window.

A Strong Early Start Across Platforms

In total, Muse has reached 2.8 million global installs in its first 12 days, according to the firm. The app’s momentum also appears to be holding. After debuting at No. 2 on the U.S. App Store, Muse has since climbed to No. 1, surpassing ChatGPT, according to reporting from Business Insider. Appfigures had previously estimated that Muse crossed 1 million downloads shortly after launch.

That early rise matters because app-store performance in the first days after launch often signals whether a product can sustain consumer attention beyond initial curiosity. In Meta’s case, the data suggests Muse is not simply benefiting from novelty; it is gaining ground quickly enough to challenge the category leader.

Daily Users Show Similar Momentum

Apptopia’s estimates point to another favorable comparison for Meta: daily usage. In the U.S. alone, Muse is said to have 642,000 daily active users, well above the 231,000 ChatGPT had at the same stage of its mobile rollout.

To make the comparison fairer, Apptopia also narrowed the analysis to iOS only, since ChatGPT launched on iPhone before expanding more broadly. Even under that tighter lens, Muse still comes out ahead, with 359,000 daily active users on iOS compared with ChatGPT’s earlier figure.

Why Meta Has An Advantage

Third-party estimates are not the same as internal company data, and Apptopia cannot see Meta’s proprietary numbers. Still, even directional data suggests Muse may be on track to become a meaningful consumer product for Meta.

That possibility is strengthened by Meta’s distribution advantage. The company has already demonstrated how powerful its ecosystem can be with Threads, which surpassed 500 million users after heavy promotion across Instagram and Facebook. Muse is likely to receive a similar boost, especially because it can connect across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

Apptopia does not track Meta’s internal promotion strategy, but its data indicates that more than 95% of Muse users are also Facebook users, while 63% are Instagram users. That overlap underscores how effectively Meta can move users across its products when it chooses to prioritize a launch.

The Strategic Test For Meta

For Meta, the early signal from Muse is less about one app’s download count than about whether the company can turn its scale into durable AI adoption. The first test is attention. The harder one is retention.

If Muse can convert early downloads into habitual use, Meta may have found a new front door into its AI ambitions. If not, the app risks becoming another example of how easily mobile hype can spike before settling back down.

Meta, which was asked for comment, has not yet released public figures on Muse’s early adoption.

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