Bank of Cyprus, the island’s largest lender, said it obtained approval to set up an asset management company.

Funds deposited in the Cypriot banking system dropped by €164.9m to €49bn in September as the amount of outstanding loans dropped by €134.6bn to €52.6bn, the lowest in nine years, the Central Bank of Cyprus said.

The of value of turnover in retail trade rose in August 2017 a preliminary 4.2% compared to the respective month of 2016, the statistical service said.

The government held at the Central Bank of Cyprus more than €1.4bn in deposits at the end of September 2017, the bank supervisor said.

Cyprus-based TUS Airways is expanding operations and is offering direct flights from Larnaca to Athens from December, it announced recently.

The consolidated economic growth of recent quarters has helped reduce the stock of non-performing loans in the banking system mainly via a reduction in delinquent corporate credit, central bank data show.

The latest statistics suggest a bright future not just for Cyprus’ economy but also for the local primary economic sector, which shows annual leaps of growth, Agriculture Minister Nicos Kouyialis said recently.

The Cooperative Cyprus Bank (CCB) is exploring “more radical solutions” in a bid to achieve a swifter reduction of the non-performing loans (NPLs) weighing on its balance sheet, the CCB’s Chief Executive Officer Nicolas Hadjiyiannis said in an interview with the Cyprus News Agency (CNA).

Fitch Ratings has upgraded Cyprus’ long-term debt in foreign currency by one notch to ‘BB’, one upgrade short of an investment-grade rating, it announced recently.

Brookstreet Hellenic Growth Fund by Brookstreet Equity Partners is understood to be successfully wrapping up its first fundraising round to proceed with investments.