Developers demonstrate against increased interest rates

A GROUP of land developers yesterday staged a demonstration at the Ayios Nikolaos roundabout in Limassol, protesting against the increased interest rates on loans imposed by Cypriot banks.

The demonstrators called the government and the Central Bank to take measures in order to address the economic crisis which they said would result from the decision to raise interest rates.

“A crisis will result from the increase in interest rates by banks. It is a paradox that when the EU is trying to boost its economy by lowering interest rates, the exact opposite is happening in Cyprus,” said Marios Savvides, one of the protestors.

“Our messages are many and we aim to alert people and make them aware of the fact that day after day interest rates are being raised and have reached up to 12 per cent,” said Eleftherios Demetriades, who represented the protesters.

As the demonstration was spontaneous, it numbered only about a dozen protesters. The land developers, however, made up for their small number by being vocal and blasting the failure of the state to provide explanations or act to protect the economy.

“What has the Minister of Finance done, or the Director of the Central Bank to explain why interest rates in Cyprus are reaching 12 per cent, and how will people be able to buy property, when a couple has to pay €1,400 in interest every month for a two-bedroom flat?” Demetriades asked.

Protesters warned that unless the state starts acting soon, the results of the banks’ behaviour would be catastrophic. The real estate sector has already been affected as estate agencies and developers have already started firing employees.

“We cannot claim that the banking sector in Cyprus is an oasis and then have these increases which have trapped not just the developers, but also ordinary people,” Savvides said.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.