Robust Cyprus Loan Growth: Annual Lending Up 11.2% Amid Deposit Contraction

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

February 27, 2026

Market Overview

The Cyprus banking sector is witnessing a notable shift as annual loan growth edges upward to 11.2%, despite a significant contraction in overall deposit levels. The latest report from the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) underscores these contrasting trends, signaling a dynamic market environment.

Declining Deposits

According to the CBC’s most recent MFIs deposits and loans statistics, total deposits plunged by €851.2 million in January 2026, reversing the net increase of €877.1 million recorded in December 2025. This decline reflects a decreasing momentum in deposit accumulation, with an annual growth rate dropping from 6.5% to 5.3%. The outstanding deposits now stand at €56.9 billion, with Cyprus residents’ deposits alone falling by €767.7 million. In a nuanced breakdown, household deposits experienced a modest uptick of €34.2 million, while non-financial corporations saw a decrease of €469.7 million, and other domestic sectors collectively dropped by €332.2 million.

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Expanding Loan Portfolios

In contrast to deposit trends, the credit market has shown marked resilience. Total loans increased by €76.4 million in January 2026, albeit down from the €587.2 million net growth recorded in the previous month. More notably, the annual expansion of total loans accelerated, rising to 11.2% from 10.7%, bringing the current loan portfolio to €26.9 billion. The demand for credit is particularly evident among Cyprus residents, whose loans jumped by €124.2 million. Meanwhile, loans to non-financial corporations only grew by €22.6 million, and household borrowing remained static. Other domestic sectors contributed an additional €101.5 million in new loans.

Implications for Stakeholders

This divergent trend between deposit contraction and loan expansion may compel stakeholders to reassess liquidity and credit risk frameworks. Analysts suggest that while the robust loan growth indicates a healthy appetite for borrowing, the simultaneous decline in deposits could signal liquidity pressures, necessitating tighter risk management strategies among financial institutions.

Conclusion

The evolving financial landscape in Cyprus, marked by a strong loan growth rate and diminishing deposit volumes, presents both opportunities and challenges. As the CBC continues to provide granular insights into these trends, market participants must remain vigilant, balancing growth ambitions with prudent liquidity management.

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Copyright Law Struggles To Keep Up With AI Training

by News Editor

August 24, 2026

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.

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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.

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