KEY ISSUES Background: The large imbalances that accumulated prior to the global financial crisis culminated in a collapse of the banking sector in early 2013. In response, the authorities took unprecedented measures and adopted an economic adjustment program, supported by official financing,...

This Selected Issues paper on Cyprus models the evolution of the saving rate to help shed some light on its determinants, which could help inform medium-term projections. This paper suggests that household net wealth and unemployment are key determinants of the saving rate in Cyprus. Cypriot...

Economic conditions have stabilized, and the economy is projected to bottom out in 2010, giving way to a mild recovery in 2011 followed by stronger growth. The foremost policy challenge is to achieve the official fiscal consolidation targets so as to put debt ratios on a declining path and...

The financial sector is mostly comprised of the banking sector, which largely provides insurance and asset management services. A large part of banking system assets relates to subsidiaries and branches of foreign banks. The banking sector poses risks by virtue of its size and concentration. The...

The Compliance of the Basel Core Principles welcomes the assessors’ recognition of the overall quality and effectiveness of Cyprus’s banking regulatory and supervisory framework in place, and the resulting high degree of compliance with the Basel Core Principles. Regulation has to be defined...

This Selected Issues paper explores the economic consequences of aging and its impact on long-term fiscal sustainability for Cyprus. The study analyzes the potential macroeconomic impact of different approaches to deal with the fiscal costs of aging. It goes beyond a simple quantification of the...