The Central Bank of Cyprus has called on the banking system to resume its lending role and help kick-start the ailing economy.

Financial and insurance sector workers in Cyprus earn more than double employees in other sectors make, the EU’s statistical agency, Eurostat, said recently.

Cyprus will continue to improve and update the incentives offered to shipping entrepreneurs and explore new incentives, ensuring that its attractiveness and competitiveness as a ship-management and shipping centre are safeguarded, said Minister of Communications Marios Demetriades.

The Cooperative Central Bank, one of four systemic Cypriot lenders supervised by the European Central Bank’s single supervisory mechanism after successfully completing the ECB’s asset quality review in October showing a €331m capital buffer in the pessimistic scenario, has launched a new brand logo, the lender said.

A 30-day public consultation for the opening of the electricity market in Cyprus was kicked off during a recent presentation of a study commissioned by the Energy Regulatory Authority (CERA).

An €80m loan signed recently with the European Investment Bank (EIB) was the first step towards building a university for 10,000 students, 600 academics, 2,000 young researchers and 400 administrative personnel by 2020, University of Cyprus Rector Constantinos Christofides said.

Hellenic Bank, one of the four Cypriot lenders supervised by the European Central Bank’s single supervisory mechanism, said it raised €201m in fresh capital through a rights issue and may raise additional €20m before the end of January 2015 if deemed necessary, as some of its shareholders refrained to exercise their rights.

The House of Representatives plenary begins a two-day debate on the 2015 state budget.

Cyprus and the European Investment Bank (EIB) signed an agreement to allocate over €75m to small and medium sized enterprises in new loans from four banks.

The Central Bank of Cyprus said the Cypriot economy will contract this year 2.6% compared to 2013 mainly on a better than expected course of private consumption which is expected to fall by 1.7%.