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The recent rating upgrade by Moody’s of the Republic of Cyprus rating, has further improved the outlook for investment in Cyprus Treasury-Bills (T-Bills) and bonds compared to locking money in bank fixed deposits.
Moody’s said in its statement the upgrade in the rating of Republic of Cyprus from Ba1 to Baa2 with a concurrent change in outlook from positive to stable is due to previous and continuing economic, fiscal and banking reforms, as well as a significant drop in bad bank loans.
Fitch Ratings, the other rating agency has also upgraded Cyprus’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘BBB’ from ‘BBB-‘. The Outlook is Stable.
Two Cypriot banks, the Bank of Cyprus and the Hellenic Bank, had their credit ratings upgraded by investment service Moody’s. Both had their long-term deposit ratings increased by one level, from Ba1 to Baa3, while Moody’s maintained a “positive outlook” for both banks.
Moody’s said, “the main reason for the upgrade is the continued resilience of the Cypriot economy and credit conditions, which lead to a supportive environment for Cypriot banks.”
They added that the upgrade also includes the continued improvements in the solvency profiles of each bank, the further gradual improvement in the quality of assets and capital sizes, as well as a “significant strengthening” of the profitability of both banks.
Analysts confirm that the bank ratings improved because of the Republic of Cyprus rating improvement and the government rating is one notch better at Baa2 compared to the bank ratings of Baa3.
Cyprus T-bills
The Cyprus government offers investors the opportunity to invest in both short-term T-bills as well as longer term 7-year and 10-year bonds. The Cyprus Public Debt Management Office announced that the weighted average yield at the 13 Week Treasury Bills (T-bills) auction increased to 3.98% compared to 3.64% in July, just shy of the 4% level.
There are two ways the public can participate in Cyprus T-bill auctions and bonds. The first way is via primary auction through banks or qualified investment firms or via the Cyprus Stock Exchange. The minimum amount to invest in the primary auction is €500,0000 while the minimum to invest via the CSE is €1,000. The problem with finding deals on the CSE is that there is serious lack of liquidity and the high demand T-bills are seldom traded.
Eurivex bonds from as little as €1,000
An investor who wishes to invest in Cyprus T-bills may consider purchasing fixed rate 3-month maturity bonds issued by Eurivex, a Cyprus Investment Firm regulated by CySEC and in operation since 2010.
The bonds carry a fixed rate of return of 4% and investors can purchase from as little as €1,000.
The difference in the rate of return is the risk that Eurivex takes for participating in the auction for the minimum €500,000 and waiting until investor funds are collected, as well as its profit margin.
The process is very simple, and all investors need to do is register online at https://trade.eurivex.com/login, answer a few questions, upload ID and most recent proof of address and enjoy participation in a secure and high return financial instrument.
Eurivex does not charge any fees for account opening, account maintenance or custody fees. Investors pay zero fees and there are no other hidden charges or fees.
Access to liquidity
The Eurivex bonds have 3-month maturity but if investors need their money even earlier, then they may sell their bonds on the Eurivex Secondary market and withdraw their money without paying any penalty fees or exit fees.
Access to the Secondary market is provided to all Eurivex customers who may decide at what price they wish to sell their bonds – market or limit order. Once an order is executed, deal confirmation is sent to the investor and the same information appears on the Eurivex dashboard, after which investors are free to withdraw their money to their IBAN. Brokerage and bank transfer fees apply for secondary market transactions.
