The Central Bank of Cyprus published a World Consumer Day update setting out the actions it uses to strengthen citizen-consumer confidence in the financial system, including financial education initiatives, greater transparency on retail banking rates, and enhanced supervision of mortgage credit conduct. Consumer-facing measures highlighted include the Central Bank of Cyprus’s role chairing and coordinating the Cyprus Financial Literacy and Education Commission, and its monthly publication since July 2024 of deposit and lending rates per bank to support comparability and competition. On conduct and borrower protection, supervision is being upgraded for implementation of the Mortgage Credit Directive as transposed into national law, and the Central Bank of Cyprus’s Code of Conduct Guide is to be implemented by credit institutions and credit servicing companies to help borrowers understand rights and obligations when facing mortgage payment difficulties. The update also points to consumer alerts and warnings published through the Central Bank of Cyprus’s channels, and to promotion of a payment account with basic features, capped at an annual total charge ceiling of EUR 36, with uptake exceeding 113,000 consumers by end-2024 compared with 37,000 in 2021. The actions are framed within the Central Bank of Cyprus’s 2025-2026 strategy, which includes upgrading the Financial Conduct sector, and within climate-risk priorities that include a Board-level Sustainability Committee to define and monitor the Sustainability Strategy and the bank’s contribution to net zero carbon dioxide emissions, alongside a shift in investment policy such as a gradual increase in green bond investments.

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