Nicosia, Cyprus. Nine bi-communal business partnerships received a total of €500,000 at an awards ceremony in Nicosia on Monday, where cooperation between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot entrepreneurs was highlighted. On the same day, the Central Bank of Cyprus reported that European Central Bank interest rate changes continue to be transmitted more weakly in Cyprus than in most euro area countries.
Bi-communal awards ceremony
The Stelios Bi-communal Business Partnership Awards were held at the offices of the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation in the presence of President Nikos Christodoulides, UN envoy Maria Angela Holguin, and Senegalese diplomat Khassim Diagne, UN special representative and head of the peacekeeping force in Cyprus, Unficyp.
Addressing the ceremony, Christodoulides said the awards had become a long-standing institution and added that he attends the event each year because he “deeply value and believe in what these awards represent”.
“And if I had to sum it up, it would be this, the essence of the awards lies in the transformative power of cooperation and peaceful coexistence,” he said.
Central bank analysis on interest rates
The Central Bank of Cyprus said in a new analysis accompanying April 2026 interest rate data that the transmission of European Central Bank interest rate changes remains weaker in the Cypriot banking sector than in most euro area countries.
According to the analysis, Cypriot banks pass on ECB rate changes to depositors to a more limited extent, and in some cases also to borrowers. The most significant divergence was observed in deposit interest rates, which remain the lowest in the Eurozone.
The central bank said Cyprus deposit rates represent the largest deviation from the Eurozone average, particularly during the period of ECB rate increases, when banks transferred only a portion of the hikes to savers compared with other member states.
It added that the same limited adjustment was also observed during the recent period of falling ECB rates, indicating a broadly subdued transmission mechanism in both directions of the interest rate cycle.
Deposit rates remain below eurozone levels
The pattern is especially evident in new fixed-term deposits by households and businesses, where Cyprus continues to record one of the weakest performances in the transmission of ECB monetary policy.
In particular, the average rate on new household fixed-term deposits of up to one year stood at 1.20 per cent in April 2026, significantly below the Eurozone median of around 1.8 per cent.