Debts of Cyprus Households: Lessons from the First Cyprus Survey of Consumer Finances

This paper describes the participation of Cyprus households in various types of debt using data from the first (1999) Cyprus Survey of Consumer Finances. It complements the 2001 paper by Haliassos et al. The findings are of interest to policy makers, as they show the extent of household participation in various loans and the indebtedness of various demographic groups. We document the considerable popularity of credit cards as borrowing instruments and a continuing parallel presence of antiquated forms of borrowing. There is surprisingly limited use by the young of mortgages, despite very high home ownership rates, and of car loans, despite high car ownership rates. We find evidence of a strong reliance on family transfers for the financing of higher education, home acquisitions and car purchases by the young. Finally, we note a tendency for Cypriot entrepreneurs to take out large loans from their business for personal use.