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Low Deposit Yields Persist In Cyprus As Banks Sit On Excess Liquidity

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

February 11, 2026

Patient Depositors Face Minimal Returns

For depositors willing to lock their funds for over a year, even marginal interest returns can be realized. In contrast, those opting for deposits of less than one year receive negligible interest, as banks capitalize on near-zero rates for short-term liquidity. This leaves many investors scrambling for alternative fixed-income instruments that offer satisfactory performance.

Alternative Investments And The Rise Of Real Estate

Banks have not introduced many new investment products lately, effectively steering investors toward real estate, which typically offers stronger returns than traditional deposits. Time-deposit schemes launched several years ago under regulatory and political pressure once provided gradually increasing interest rates over 12, 18, and 24 months. In 2024, the average yield for long-term deposits stood slightly above 1.5 percent. Since then, high deposit rates have slipped off the policy agenda, and with liquidity levels remaining abundant, yields have settled back at historically low levels.

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Comparative Analysis: Cyprus Versus The Eurozone

The persistently low interest rates on deposits in Cyprus have positioned them among the smallest in the Eurozone, despite sporadic upward movements in time deposit rates. Data from the Central Bank indicates a gradual reversion to the subdued levels observed in 2023. For example, by December 2025, the average market rate for household time deposits up to two years had dropped to 0.75%, matching figures seen in November, compared to 1.19% in December 2024.

Market Dynamics And Future Outlook

In 2024, deposit yields were notably higher as banks were compelled, amid political pressure, to increase rates. By December 2023, the average deposit rate was 0.69% compared to a mere 0.13% in 2022. Furthermore, the rates on household deposits flagged for durations exceeding three months remained effectively stagnant at 0.07% throughout 2023 to 2025.

For corporate deposits, the average market rate currently hovers around 1.11%, down from 1.82% in December 2024 and 1.69% in December 2023. Analyses from the Central Bank also note that rates for new time deposit products continue to decline. For instance, household deposits with maturities between one and two years fell from 1.57% in December 2023 to 0.83% in December 2024 and further down to 0.49% in December 2025.

Transparent Data Limitations

It is important to acknowledge the limitations inherent in the published data by the Central Bank. The bank does not routinely disclose whether the deposits recorded are bound for one year or more versus those of shorter durations, nor does it provide the average size for each category of deposit. This lack of granularity makes it challenging for investors and industry observers to draw precise conclusions regarding the evolving deposit landscape.

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Google Cloud Outage Disrupts Banking And Digital Services Across The UK

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

October 20, 2026

A power outage at a Google Cloud data centre near London disrupted services across the UK on Tuesday, affecting banks, businesses and other digital platforms. Google said the incident was caused by a power event at its cloud operations, with full recovery expected by around 1300 GMT.

The disruption began at 0608 GMT and affected Google Cloud services in the europe-west2 region, which is hosted in London. In an initial update, the company reported elevated error rates and intermittent network failures across multiple services as engineers worked to restore operations.

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Banking Services Hit By The Disruption

Revolut was among the most visibly affected companies, with customers reporting problems with ATM withdrawals, bank transfers and card top-ups. A source close to the matter linked the issues to the Google Cloud outage.

Traditional banks also reported disruptions. Lloyds said some customers were experiencing problems with its app and online banking, while HSBC confirmed difficulties accessing its services. HSBC added that it was monitoring the situation and noted that other organisations were affected as well.

Disruption Spreads Beyond Finance

Downdetector, which tracks online service disruptions, recorded hundreds of reports involving other businesses, including property website Rightmove and the Royal Mail postal service. The reports suggested that the outage was affecting multiple parts of the UK’s digital economy.

The incident highlights the risks facing businesses that depend on shared cloud infrastructure. Even a temporary failure at a single provider can disrupt services across several sectors, from banking and payments to logistics and consumer platforms.

Companies Reassure Customers

Revolut said it had been working to resolve the issue since it was identified and apologised to affected customers. The company also confirmed that customers’ money and data remained safe.

As cloud platforms underpin an increasing share of digital commerce, the outage illustrates how disruptions to critical infrastructure can spread far beyond the provider itself, affecting businesses and customers across the economy.