The Cypriot banking sector has had to weather plenty of crises over the years. But in many ways, the country’s banks entered the coronavirus pandemic in pretty good shape from the reforms and steps taken since the global financial crash (2007-2009) and the 2013 Cypriot banking crisis, such as reducing the size of its banking sector and stock of non-performing exposures (NPEs), as well as improving compliance and regulatory standards.
But coming into the pandemic, the biggest challenge facing Cyprus’s banks was whether they could continue on the road of recovery, particularly in offloading their NPEs at a decent pace. That test was passed with flying colours.