NICOSIA: Big business needs to repay debt to struggling banks if Cyprus is to enjoy a sustained economic recovery, central bank chief Chrystalla Georghadji said yesterday. “I want to take this opportunity to call on large corporate businesses to use some of the surplus funds generated in the recent boom years to meet their repayments and cooperate with their lenders in restructuring their debts,” Georghadji told a conference.
Around 30 big borrowers, including property developers and hotels, are estimated to owe roughly ¤6bn ($7.5bn) in bad loans to struggling Cypriot banks. Bad loans are seen as a major stumbling block to the nation’s economic recovery and there are suspicions that some companies are using legal loopholes to deliberately fall behind on payments.
AFP
