The island's largest lender, Bank of Cyprus (BoC) announces extra measures to support customers who are facing difficult times because of the recession.

On the heels of recent announcements by the Bank of Cyprus and the Co-operative Central Bank offering distressed borrowers more favourable repayment terms, Hellenic Bank followed suit with an announcement of its own policies.

Tourism has risen 6.0% between January and July, and revenue by 8.0% compared to the same period last year, Cyprus Tourism Organisation chairman Angelos Loizou said recently.

Non-performing loans (NPLs) in Cyprus' banking system recorded an increase by €317 million at the end of June 2014 compared with the previous month.

The Bank of Cyprus announced recently that its financial results for the first half of 2014 will be released on August 27 and its report audited by the Group's external auditors will be announced on August 29.

Banks will not foreclose on homes belonging to vulnerable groups, the bank association said recently, as it sought to allay concerns ahead of a vote on a foreclosures bill at the end of this week.

The government has agreed to give the Zenon consortium until the end of 2014 to secure financing for the Larnaca port and marina project.

Daniele Nouy, chair of the supervisory board of the single supervisory mechanism (SSM) at the European Central Bank (ECB), has expressed the view that many measures have been taken to stabilize the banking sector and the economy, adding at the same time that the banking union would help restore confidence in the banking sector in Cyprus.

MeritKapital (MK) announces its admittance into the Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) as a 'Broker and Clearing member firm', which should attract considerable trading interest once the new Bank of Cyprus shares resume trading on the exchange, estimated in the fourth quarter of 2014.

The Council of Ministers has approved a bill on forclosures of mortgaged properties entitled 'The activities of Credit Institutions (Amendment) Law of 2014'.