President Anastasiades made the comments on Saturday night during the inauguration in Limassol of the building of the Bank of Beirut and the Arab Countries (BBAC).

“After almost four years of contraction, the economy has officially exited recession and is registering positive economic growth from the beginning of this year, a growth that is projected to be maintained,” he said.

The banks had been restructured and recapitalized – mainly through private capital and were refocusing their operations with a prudent risk-based approach to lending.

But the sector still has challenges to face and by resolving the NPL problem they would be able to improve their ability to provide new credit to the economy.

“With a responsible fiscal policy visible through the performance of the public finances, with emphasis on investments, coupled with the targeted structural reforms that we are promoting, we are confident that the economy will be on solid ground in the medium and long term,” he added.

Referring to the BBAC, which has been operating on the island since 1986, he thanked the management for their trust in Cyprus.

“At this important junction for the Cypriot economy, at a time when it is recovering and returning to growth, we warmly welcome the importance that the BBAC has attached on strengthening its investment in the Cypriot economy. This is reflected by Bank’s relocation to this new state of the art building,” he concluded.

Source: Cyprus Mail