The Bank of Cyprus has announced after-tax profits of €383 million, of which €131 million refers to the third quarter of the year and stands at the same level on a quarterly basis. The Bank has also recorded a significant increase in loans and deposits.
According to the Group's financial results, the performing loan portfolio amounted to €11.6 billion, an increase of 7% since the beginning of the year and by 9% on an annual basis.
At the same time, the deposit base, mostly retail, reached €23.5 billion, up 6% since the beginning of the year and 9% year-on-year.
Also, the Bank of Cyprus announced attractive profitability and specific profits after tax of €383 million, of which €131 million 1 in the third quarter of 2026, at the same levels on a quarterly basis.
The Bank, in addition, announced a Return on Tangible Equity (ROTE) of 18.9% for the nine months ended 30 September, 2026.
It is worth mentioning that basic earnings per share amounted to €0.88, increased by 9% on an annual basis, while the cost-to-income ratio amounted to 36%.
Balance sheet liquidity and resilience
Regarding liquidity and balance sheet resilience, the Bank of Cyprus announced the following:
- Loan credit losses charge amounted to a net credit of 14 bps, due to specific customer reversals
- NPL ratio to loans at 1.0%
The Bank also announced a strong capital position and distributions, with the Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) Capital Ratio at 20.6%, the Total Capital Adequacy Ratio at 25.2%, organic capital formation 4 of 341 bps.
It also announced the payment of an interim dividend of €0.24 per ordinary share in October 2026.
Small acquisitions
Regarding acquisitions, the Group recalls the completion of the acquisition of a portfolio of performing loans of approximately €130 million and deposits of approximately €440 million from the Cyprus Development Bank Public Company Limited (CDB) in October 2026.
Panicos Nicolaou: "We continue the successful implementation of our strategy"
Commenting on the financial results, the CEO of Bank of Cyprus, Panicos Nicolaou, states that "we continue to achieve strong financial and operational performance, as reflected in the financial results for the nine months ended 30 September 2026. Total profits after tax increased by 9% year-on-year and amounted to €383 million, generating a Return on Tangible Equity (ROTE) of 18.9%, based on a high capital base."
We continue, he adds, "the successful implementation of our strategy, recording strong growth in loans and deposits, while maintaining discipline in managing our expenses and implementing prudent practices in our loan portfolio."
According to Nicolaou, “the performing loan portfolio amounted to €11.6 billion, up 9% year-on-year and 7% year-on-year, supported mainly by domestic demand for lending. Our deposit base, which is predominantly retail, increased by 9% year-on-year and 6% year-on-year to €23.5 billion as of September 30, 2026.”
“The quality of our loan portfolio remained strong, with the NPL ratio at 1.0% and the charge of loan losses to net credit. Our business model continues to deliver strong organic capital generation of 341 bps in the nine months ended September 30, 2026, putting us on track to exceed our organic capital generation target of 350-400 bps for 2026,” he continues.
Recognizing, it underlines, a provision for the distribution of ordinary dividends at 70% (payout ratio), at the upper limit of our Distribution Policy, the Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) Capital Ratio and the Total Capital Adequacy Ratio amounted to 20.6% and 25.2% respectively, while the tangible book value per share increased to €6.21, recording an increase of 11% since the beginning of the year, following the payment of an interim dividend of €0.24 in October 2026.
As part of the Group's strategy to expand our balance sheet, through organic and inorganic growth, he underlines, "in October 2026 we completed the acquisition of a portfolio of performing loans of approximately €130 million and deposits of approximately €440 million from the Cyprus Development Bank Public Company Limited, with the transaction price being close to nominal value."
Regarding the Cypriot economy, Nicolaou emphasises that it remains strong and growing, despite the ongoing geopolitical uncertainty. “According to official forecasts, the expected growth rate for 2026 has been revised upwards to around 3%, from around 2.5%, confirming the resilience of the economy. The country’s growth rate is expected to continue to exceed the Eurozone average,” he explains.
The low unemployment rate, the rapid recovery of tourism towards 2025 levels and the strong fiscal position, which is reflected in the reduction of public debt in terms of GDP, indicate that these are factors that contributed to the strong growth of the economy.
Given the strong performance, he adds, “We are upgrading our Return on Tangible Equity target for 2026 to high-teens. For 2026, we remain committed to our target of an overall payout ratio of 70%, at the maximum of the Distribution Policy, and an additional dividend of up to 20% of 2026 profitability.”
"We remain committed to supporting our customers and the broader economy, maintaining our unparalleled priority of creating strong returns for our shareholders," Panicos Nicolaou concludes.
