Investment platform Wealthyhood has recorded a five-fold increase in investors and an eight-fold rise in client assets in Cyprus between June and September 2026, with data from its partnership with the Bank of Cyprus pointing to growing interest in local shares, exchange-traded funds and accessible long-term investing.

The figures, published in ‘Wealthyhood’s Cyprus Investor Pulse 2026‘ report, cover anonymised and aggregated data from clients resident in Cyprus between June 1 and September 30, with the findings highlighting how lower entry costs and simpler account funding can encourage participation in financial markets.

Alexandros Christodoulakis, co-founder and chief executive of Wealthyhood, told the Cyprus Mail that the response from Cypriot investors had exceeded expectations in terms of the quality of their engagement.

“People in Cyprus didn’t need to be convinced that investing matters. What they were missing was a simple, trusted way to start, and once that existed, they moved quickly,” he said.

The report found that 88.6 per cent of clients who deposited money went on to buy a stock or exchange-traded fund (ETF), compared with 80.4 per cent among clients who signed up in Greece during the same period.

Christodoulakis said the company was encouraged by the extent to which customers were continuing to invest after opening their accounts, rather than simply registering and leaving the platform.

“Of those who joined in June or July and invested, 88.9 per cent were still invested on September 30,” he said.

“Seven in ten (70.3 per cent) have never sold an investment, and six in ten (59.1 per cent) made a second deposit within 30 days of their first,” Christodoulakis continued. “People are not trying the app once and walking away; they are building a habit.”

He added that four months of activity remained an early snapshot, but that the quality of engagement had been particularly encouraging.

Low entry barriers foster early activity and habit-building

The report also found that 58.4 per cent of new investors made their first investment within 7 days of signing up, while 14.4 per cent invested on the same day.

The typical first deposit was €100, while the typical first investment amounted to €55. Almost two-thirds of investors, or 64 per cent, started with €100 or less, suggesting that many were entering the market with relatively modest sums.

More than half, or 56.8 per cent, made their first investment in an ETF, which allows investors to buy into a collection of companies through a single product.

The most popular first investment was the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, accounting for 16.6 per cent of first investments, followed by Bank of Cyprus shares at 10.2 per cent.

Christodoulakis said traditional barriers to investing included high minimum investment requirements, fees that eroded smaller amounts, paperwork and complicated terminology.

“Faced with that, many people who could invest simply never start. Not because they don’t care about their future, but because the first step looks expensive, complicated and opaque,” he stated.

Wealthyhood aims to address these obstacles by allowing customers to invest in international and local markets from €1, with zero commission and fractional shares, alongside an education hub containing more than 50 guides.

The platform also offers Autopilot, an automated investing service through which users can make regular investments without having to manage each transaction manually. The typical Autopilot user invests €150 a month, according to the report.

Christodoulakis said access to financial markets needed to be accompanied by a better understanding of investment products and their risks.

“Access alone isn’t enough, though. People also need to understand what they’re buying and why, which is why education sits at the core of the app, not in a corner of it,” he said.

Investor demographics reveal mature and higher-earning profile

The report’s demographic findings challenge the assumption that investment applications primarily attract younger users.

The typical investor in Cyprus is 40 years old, works full-time and declares an annual income of between €30,001 and €50,000. The largest age group is 35 to 44, accounting for 31.7 per cent of investors, followed by those aged 45 to 54 at 25.9 per cent and those aged 25 to 34 at 25.3 per cent.

People under 30 account for 19.3 per cent of investors.

Income levels were also higher than those recorded among investors in Greece. Some 31 per cent of Cypriot investors declared annual incomes above €50,000, while 24 per cent reported incomes below €20,000, compared with 58 per cent of investors in Greece in the latter category.

Full-time employees account for 86.5 per cent of investors, while 4.7 per cent are self-employed.

Finance and insurance is the most common industry, employing 31.5 per cent of investors, followed by information technology at 10.5 per cent and the public sector at 8.1 per cent.

Nicosia district accounts for 50.5 per cent of investors, followed by Limassol at 25.6 per cent, Larnaca at 14.9 per cent, Paphos at 5.1 per cent and Famagusta at 3.9 per cent.

Christodoulakis said the available data was not yet sufficient to establish how the investor profile had changed over time or to draw reliable conclusions about customers’ previous investing experience.

However, he said the behaviour observed so far pointed towards a cautious, long-term approach, characterised by small initial investments, ETFs and limited selling.

“One number I’d like to see change: about one in six new investors is a woman. Closing that gap is one of the biggest challenges for retail investing, in Cyprus and beyond,” he said.

He added that the market was increasingly being shaped by working people seeking greater control over their long-term finances, rather than traders attempting to profit from short-term market movements.

“As cost and complexity keep falling, I expect that profile to broaden, especially to younger people and to women,” he said.

Domestic shares drive engagement alongside global ETFs

The availability of domestic shares has also helped attract investors to the platform, with the Bank of Cyprus emerging as its most-bought individual stock.

Cypriot and Greek shares became available through Wealthyhood on July 17, allowing customers to hold domestic investments alongside international stocks and ETFs.

Customers can access Bank of Cyprus shares and 8 other companies listed on the Cyprus Stock Exchange, namely Vassiliko Cement, Demetra Holdings, Logicom, Cyprus Cement, Petrolina, Atlantic Insurance, Pandora Investments and GlobalWealth Group.

Within less than 3 months of the launch, 29.2 per cent of buyers had purchased at least 1 Cypriot share.

The Bank of Cyprus was bought by 35.8 per cent of stock investors, ahead of US technology company NVIDIA at 21.3 per cent and SpaceX at 12.6 per cent.

Among investors who purchased Cypriot shares, 82.6 per cent chose the Bank of Cyprus, followed by Vassiliko Cement at 16 per cent, Petrolina at 12.3 per cent and Logicom at 8.2 per cent.

The report found that domestic shares were bringing new participants into the market. For 52.8 per cent of investors holding Cypriot shares, a local company had been their first investment on Wealthyhood, compared with just 1.8 per cent among other investors.

Those holding Cypriot shares also had larger portfolios, with a typical portfolio 1.8 times the size of those held by other investors and containing 3 investments rather than 1.

Christodoulakis said familiar domestic companies could provide an accessible entry point for people who were less comfortable with international markets.

“People invest more readily in companies they know, and familiar local names are often the bridge into the market,” he said.

However, he stressed that local shares were complementing rather than replacing international investments.

The report found that 8.6 per cent of money invested since July 17 had gone into Cypriot shares, while Greek shares accounted for 12.3 per cent. Some 18.9 per cent of buyers had purchased at least 1 Greek share.

Across portfolios, 37.6 per cent of invested money was allocated to the United States, 21.1 per cent to global ETFs, 16.5 per cent to the rest of Europe, 11.3 per cent to Greece and 8.9 per cent to Cyprus.

The figures also showed the importance of ETFs in investors’ portfolios. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, which tracks the 500 largest US companies, had been purchased by 42.7 per cent of ETF investors and was held by 24.4 per cent of all investors on September 30.

Other popular ETFs included the Vanguard LifeStrategy 80 per cent Equity fund, purchased by 13.6 per cent of ETF investors, the SPDR MSCI World at 13.1 per cent and the iShares Nasdaq 100 at 11.9 per cent.

Among investors who still held investments on September 30, 42.5 per cent held only ETFs.

Dual exchange listings and long-term literacy goals

The report also examined access to shares listed in Athens. On September 30, 25.6 per cent of investors held at least 1 stock listed on Euronext Athens, including the Bank of Cyprus, while 7.6 per cent held a stock listed on the Cyprus Stock Exchange and 4.2 per cent held shares listed on both exchanges.

Athens-listed stocks accounted for 17.1 per cent of invested money, while Cyprus Stock Exchange-listed shares represented 2.1 per cent.

After the Bank of Cyprus, the most widely held Athens-listed stocks were Eurobank, at 5.1 per cent, followed by Allwyn and Alpha Bank, each at 2.8 per cent. Half of the 10 most widely held names were banks.

Christodoulakis said the company’s priorities in Cyprus were to improve financial education, encourage customers to turn initial investments into regular habits and expand the role of automated investing.

He said Wealthyhood and the Bank of Cyprus shared a responsibility to help close the financial literacy gap, particularly among younger people and women, by improving understanding of risk, diversification and the importance of time in investing.

“Giving people access to markets is only half of the job; helping them understand risk, diversification and time is the other half,” he said.

The company also wants to build on existing customer behaviour through services such as Autopilot, which can make regular investment contributions easier to maintain.

Christodoulakis said the first months of activity had demonstrated a clear appetite for accessible investing in Cyprus, but that the next challenge was to turn the initial momentum into sustained participation.

“Four months in, Cyprus has shown us the appetite is real. Now the work is to turn that early momentum into a generation of long-term investors,” he said.

• John Santora took the helm of WeWork in 2024, shortly after it emerged from bankruptcy.
• Two years later, the company is making money.
• At Business Insider's Long Play Event, Santora told Executive Editor Cadie Thompson how he did it.

For WeWork's CEO, Fridays are for sneakers. Sometimes.

At Business Insider's The Long Play event on Thursday, John Santora told Deputy News Chief Cadie Thompson that he rebuilt WeWork in part by establishing a sense of trust and decorum among employees.

In pursuit of that goal, Santora instituted a dress code for employees, but also gave them one day a week to work from home.

"I didn't have the ability to go watch my son play a 3 o'clock baseball game," Santora said, adding, "We have to give our employees that flexibility to do all that."

Santora, formerly the chief operating officer at Cushman & Wakefield, a real estate firm, became WeWork's CEO in 2024 as the once-buzzy office startup emerged from a disastrous Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

Santora had a short time to decide whether to join the faltering company, he recalled. And it wasn't exactly an easy choice.

"I was kind of at that point of, 'Should I retire?'" he said. "My daughter Nancy said, 'Dad, you know we love you, but when you have too much time on your hands, you're a pain in the ass.'"

Since those deeply red days in 2019 when WeWork's valuation plummeted from $47 billion to roughly $8 billion before it was bailed out, the company has stabilized. It posted eight quarters of EBITDA profitability and expects a fourth straight quarter of cash-flow profitability.

In 2025, it reported about $2.3 billion in revenue.

Though it hasn't hit the valuation it once had, the fact that the company could be revived at all is remarkable. WeWork, founded in 2010, rents out office space, spruces it up, and parcels it out to freelancers, startups, and other businesses.

Its first CEO and founder, Adam Neumann, made bold pronouncements that WeWork would "change the world" and "elevate the world's consciousness" by renting out office space to startups.

But after a bungled IPO, it became clear to the new stakeholders that a different type of leader was sorely needed.

As it turned out, Santora was that leader.

Having worked for 47 years at Cushman & Wakefield, Santora had the real estate experience that Neumann lacked, albeit without the magnetism of a Silicon Valley whiz kid.

"From a leadership standpoint, I'm a very structured, disciplined person," he said. "I'm a suit and tie, buttoned-up real estate person."

Santora recalled an early trip to one of the offices, where he discovered employees wearing jeans, pajamas, slippers, and shorts.

"I grabbed my head of HR," he said. "See that? I don't want to see it anymore."

Santora, who at one point described himself as an "old chubby guy from Staten Island," didn't just force employees to wear sports coats to important meetings. In his words, there was some "give and take."

"I don't look at what time they leave, what time they come in," he said of his employees. "As long as they're getting their work done and they're keeping their clients happy."

And Santora allows himself one exception to his suit-and-tie persona.

"Fridays, I'll actually sometimes wear sneakers, depending on what my schedule is," he said.

Cristina Junqueira helped build Brazilian fintech player Nubank into one of the world's largest digital financial services platforms.

Now, as she leads Nu's emerging US business, she is taking on its biggest challenge yet: breaking into America's crowded banking market.

As part of Business Insider's The Long Play, Junqueira sat down with Dan DeFrancesco, executive editor and anchor of Business Insider Today, to share her insights on how to build trust and scale in banking, like leaning into convenience through digital banking products.

During the discussion, called "Building a Global Challenger," Junqueira also talked about her plan to take on incumbents in retail banking.

• Nubank's US CEO joined Business Insider's The Long Play to discuss the bank's expansion into the US.
• The company looks to simplify banking with a digital-first fintech approach.
• US CEO Cristina Junqueira focuses on building trust through credit options and brand building.

Nubank is the largest digital bank in Latin America — now it's turning its eyes towards the US.

Cristina Junqueira, the co-founder and US CEO of Nubank, sat down with Dan DeFrancesco, executive editor and anchor of Business Insider Today, at Business Insider's The Long Play, to talk about the digital bank's expansion on Thursday.

How it began

Since its founding in 2013, the fintech bank has pushed for financial inclusivity in Latin America by providing access to banking and financial services through its mobile app. Headquartered in Junqueira's home country of Brazil, the simple, low-cost, and digital-first approach discarded the need for physical banks, which are at times harder to reach in parts of Latin America — a key part of its success in the region.

It all started with a purple credit card with no fees.

"We had this vision that data, design, technology, completely transforms people's relationship with money," she said.

Junqueira previously worked as an executive at Itaú Unibanco, the largest private-sector financial giant in the region, also headquartered in Brazil and now a direct competitor of Nubank. Today, it is the largest company in Brazil based on primary banking relationships, and two-thirds of the country's adult population are customers, she said.

Entering the US market

The digital bank is set to expand into the US after opening a branch in September, operating under the name Nu. This comes after expansion into Mexico and Colombia in 2021.

"We always saw the thesis as a global one," she said. "Everywhere in the world, people want more convenience. People want more transparency. People want simpler experiences managing their finances. People still get like paralyzed by complexity through their financial lives."

Entering America's crowded banking sector is a risk — but for Junqueira, entering no country goes without risk.

"The US is a very hard market, but I haven't found easy ones either," she said. "Building a bank is hard everywhere, so you might as well go for the biggest payout."

In the US, she said getting a bank account is still "surprisingly hard" and normally requires you to go to a physical branch, while Nu offers an easier alternative to that, she said. Foreign digital-first banks have tried to bring their platforms to the US before and failed. German fintech N26 and UK fintech Monzo both tried to expand their businesses to the US, and ultimately withdrew from the market.

The American consumer is unique, which is why Junqueira aims to take a different approach than her competitors to earn trust and scale the platform. She said most other companies started with debit cards, while Nubank is the first to start with credit cards.

Starting people out with a debit card "requires you to build a lot of trust with those customers because you're asking them to deposit their money with you," she said. "In our case, all the countries that we started, we started with credit. This is a very different relationship because you're the one trusting the consumers," she said.

Some Latin American immigrants who already live in the US are responding positively to Nu as it enters the market.

"I've been positively surprised not only by the amount of people, sure, but Brazilians, Mexicans, and others are here and have been waiting for this," she said.

Junqueira also pointed to emerging AI technology and how it could impact the company and the banking sector. She said the company is "heavily leveraging AI," integrating it in credit underwriting, customer support, and product development.

Brazil's presidential election on Sunday made headlines as President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva unexpectedly won a runoff against Flávio Bolsonaro, who fled the country to the US after he was under investigation for alleged corruption and money laundering. When asked about how she reacted to the big market sell-off in response, Junqueira said volatility is part of operating in a country like Brazil, but having 13 years of experience in the country has helped them learn they are going to run the company for the long run.

"We got to focus on the fundamentals, and the reality is, last quarter we turned over a billion dollars in net income," she said. "Markets don't like surprises, right? But we manage our business regardless of what happens."

Building a brand

The founder said one of the hardest things Nu will have to do in the US is build a brand that connects with users on an "emotional" level. Junqueira's dream scenario, five years from now, is to find evidence of that connection in the US.

One of the ways Nubank is attempting to spread its brand is through a recently signed deal with the Mercedes F1 team. Junqueira pointed to fans' passion for specific teams, as they follow the championship around the world, which was part of why they wanted to take part.

"We got a lot of visibility out of that, and we're working with them on brand activations," she said. "We're producing very interesting activations for consumers that help us amplify the branding fast, and that really help us bring this partnership to life."

Another huge part of the digital bank's brand is gender equality. In 2021, Nubank set a goal for 50% of Nubank's leadership to be women by 2025. Junqueira said today that the company's workforce is over 45% women, with many in leadership positions. In the four countries where they operate, all top leaders are women. Junqueira said the biggest challenge of being an executive while raising a family is not having the flexibility to juggle the demands of both roles.

"The reality is, as hard as we have to work, I think the hardest part is not having enough flexibility," she said. "It has been wonderful for us to have that type of opportunity, for us to really be able to tap into this part of the workforce that often struggles to have this type of career opportunity."

Correction — October 29, 2026: An earlier version of this article misstated Junqueira's title; she is the co-founder and CEO of US Nubank. The article also has been updated to note that the top leaders in the four countries where Nubank operates are women.

The European Central Bank (ECB) kept its three key interest rates unchanged on Thursday, as rising energy prices threaten to push inflation higher and weaken economic growth, hours after President Christine Lagarde announced she would step down before the end of her term.

The decision leaves the ECB’s deposit facility rate at 2.50 per cent, its main refinancing rate at 2.65 per cent and its marginal lending facility rate at 2.90 per cent, following September’s rate increase.

The Governing Council said the energy shock, driven by the conflict in the Middle East, was creating risks in both directions for the euro area economy, with higher prices threatening to fuel inflation while tighter financing conditions could weigh on economic activity.

“Energy prices have continued to rise, posing upside risks to the inflation outlook and downside risks to the growth outlook,” the ECB said.

The bank added that the full effects of the energy shock were still unfolding, although underlying inflation had remained broadly stable and wages had not yet shown a significant response.

However, it warned that the shock’s growing magnitude and duration, together with possible indirect effects and a second round of price and wage increases, were likely to push inflation higher and reduce growth.

Financing conditions have also tightened since the Governing Council’s previous meeting, a development the ECB expects to weigh on both inflation and economic activity.

The central bank reiterated its commitment to bringing inflation to its 2 per cent medium-term target, while stressing that its decisions would depend on incoming economic and financial data.

“The Governing Council remains well positioned to navigate the current elevated uncertainty,” it said, adding that monetary policy would be assessed on a meeting-by-meeting basis.

The ECB said it would consider the inflation outlook and the risks surrounding it, developments in underlying inflation and the strength of monetary policy transmission when deciding on interest rates.

It also stressed that it was not committing to a predetermined path for interest rates, leaving open the possibility of further changes as economic conditions develop.

The bank said its asset purchase programme and pandemic emergency purchase programme portfolios were continuing to decline at a measured and predictable pace because the Eurosystem was no longer reinvesting principal payments from maturing securities.

The Governing Council also reiterated that it was prepared to adjust all instruments within its mandate to ensure inflation stabilised at its target and to preserve the smooth transmission of monetary policy.

It added that its Transmission Protection Instrument remained available to counter unwarranted and disorderly market movements that posed a serious threat to the transmission of monetary policy across euro area countries.

Lagarde to leave in February

The rate decision followed the announcement that Lagarde would leave the ECB presidency on February 7, 2027, around nine months before her term was due to expire in October of that year.

The 70-year-old former French finance minister and International Monetary Fund managing director announced her departure after months of speculation about her future, with the decision coming as Europe faces economic uncertainty and politically sensitive elections.

“I leave this institution with a sense of good work done and an ECB that is fit for the future,” Lagarde said in a short video shared on social media.

Her departure is expected to allow European Union leaders to select a successor before France’s presidential election, in which far-right candidate Marine Le Pen has been favoured by opinion polls.

A source with direct knowledge of the matter said Lagarde had decided to leave so she could weigh in on political matters in France and internationally, something she was expected to avoid while leading the ECB to protect the institution’s independence.

European Council president António Costa said the process to appoint her successor would begin immediately and proceed without delay.

Euro area saving falls

Separate ECB figures published earlier this week showed that euro area net saving declined to €868 billion in the four quarters to the second quarter of 2026, down from €895 billion in the four quarters to the previous quarter.

Net saving represented 6.7 per cent of the euro area’s net disposable income.

Net non-financial investment also fell to €599 billion, equivalent to 4.6 per cent of net disposable income, mainly because non-financial corporations reduced their net investment.

Despite the decline in saving and investment, the euro area’s net lending to the rest of the world remained broadly unchanged at €312 billion, as the two measures fell by similar amounts.

Household net lending decreased to €703 billion from €715 billion, representing 5.4 per cent of net disposable income.

By contrast, net lending by non-financial corporations increased to €127 billion from €103 billion, equivalent to 1 per cent of net disposable income.

Financial corporations moved from net borrowing of €3 billion to net lending of €9 billion, or 0.1 per cent of net disposable income.

General government net borrowing increased, making a more negative contribution to the euro area’s overall net lending position, at €528 billion, equivalent to 4 per cent of net disposable income.

The figures also showed that household debt declined relative to income, with the debt-to-income ratio falling to 80.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2026 from 80.5 per cent a year earlier.

Non-financial corporations’ consolidated debt-to-GDP ratio also edged down, reaching 66.1 per cent in the second quarter, compared with 66.4 per cent a year earlier.

Thinktank says chancellor has given himself a mountain to climb after ducking big decisions in low-key speech

John Healey has paved the way for a “brutal” spending review next year after his budget failed to cover a £28bn shortfall in the public finances needed to avoid a return to austerity, according to Britain’s leading tax and spending experts.

A day after his address to the Commons, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said the chancellor had left himself a mountain to climb by ducking several big decisions in his debut tax and spending statement.

The era of the standard $99 airline credit card may be fading as American Airlines becomes the latest major carrier to adjust its price tag.

Beginning Jan. 24, 2027, the annual fee for both the Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select MasterCard and the Citi/AAdvantage Business MasterCard will jump from $99 to $150, according to a company press release.

The adjustment marks the first price hike for the popular Platinum Select consumer card since 2018, signaling a shift in the travel rewards landscape.

MAJOR AIRLINE DITCHES SNACKS DURING SHORT FLIGHTS AS ‘ZERO SERVICE’ SPARKS DEBATE

To soften the blow of a nearly 52% fee increase, American Airlines, Citi and MasterCard are adding several new travel and lifestyle perks.

Whether those additions make up for the $51 increase will depend largely on how travelers use the card, Nick Ewen, editor-in-chief of The Points Guy, told Fox News Digital. 

"You have to look at the real dollar value based on your own travel habits," said Ewen, who is based in Florida. 

Cardholders will gain additional ways to earn AAdvantage miles on everyday spending, along with up to $120 toward Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fees every four years, American Airlines confirmed.

Additionally, a new $100 annual statement credit for in-flight purchases will replace the previous 25% food and beverage discount. 

This makes the card significantly more rewarding for travelers, as the credit can be applied toward broad in-flight expenses, including Wi-Fi, which was explicitly excluded under the old discount system.

For someone who regularly spends money aboard American flights or already pays for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, Ewen said the new credits could help offset the higher annual fee.

"If the answer is yes, you're definitely going to come out ahead," he said of travelers who typically spend up to $100 on in-flight purchases each year.

PASSENGER JET BOUND FOR US PLUNGES 27,000 FEET BEFORE CIRCLING FOR HOURS

The changes may not be for everyone, however.

"If you're only flying American once a year, you may not be able to stomach that additional increased annual fee," he said.

The changes also include adjustments to how cardholders can rack up rewards on everyday purchases, according to the press release. 

The personal Platinum Select card will offer three miles per dollar on eligible AAdvantage Hotels and Cars bookings and two miles per dollar on gas and EV charging, select streaming services, and eligible Rides and Rails purchases.

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Existing perks — including preferred boarding, no foreign transaction fees and a free first checked bag on domestic American itineraries for the cardholder and up to four companions — will remain intact.

Ewen said the higher fee follows a broader shift among airline rewards cards. 

"American is far from the first airline that we've seen this increase in their annual fees," he said, pointing to similar changes from Delta, Southwest and United.

Entry-level airline cards that once hovered around $100 annually are increasingly moving closer to $150, Ewen said.

"This is definitely the norm, although it's not universal across the board," he added.

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The move by American Airlines aligns with a broader trend sweeping the credit card sector.

Over the past few years, the travel rewards market has seen steady fee inflation as issuers pack mid-tier and premium cards with statement credits and subscription services.

Financial institutions are betting consumers will accept higher upfront costs in exchange for tangible, use-it-or-lose-it perks, transforming traditional flight-focused credit cards into broader lifestyle products, according to reports. 

The changes drew mixed reactions from cardholders online.

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"Call me crazy, but none of this is an upgrade," one Reddit user commented.

Another questioned the value of the new in-flight credit. 

"These inflight credit[s] [are] annoying," the person wrote. "They don't even stock them except for longer flights."

Others were more receptive to the new benefits, with one commenter pointing to the Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit as a reason the higher fee could be worthwhile.

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"This has become more of a respectable airline card in my opinion now with this refresh," one user wrote.

Christine Lagarde is stepping down as president of the European Central Bank (ECB) nine months earlier than expected, bringing forward a leadership contest at a time when renewed inflationary pressures and rising borrowing costs are causing fresh concern for businesses and households across Cyprus and the eurozone.

The ECB confirmed on Thursday, October 29, that Lagarde will leave her post on February 7, 2027, rather than complete her eight-year term, which was due to expire at the end of October next year.

In a video statement published on the bank’s social media, Lagarde personally confirmed her departure, explaining that she had informed fellow policymakers and ECB staff of her decision.

Reflecting on her seven years in Frankfurt, she described her time at the institution as “a great pride and a huge privilege”, thanking those who had helped fulfil its mission in Europe.

That mission, she explained, was to “be a rock, be solid, deliver price stability, financial stability”, before adding that she would leave with “a sense of good work done and an ECB that is fit for the future.”

According to the official announcement, Lagarde also informed European Council president António Costa of her decision earlier on Thursday, with the ECB’s Governing Council thanking her for her service and giving her a lengthy standing ovation.

Her departure comes at a particularly difficult time for the European economy, with renewed inflationary pressures, higher energy costs and growing concerns over borrowing conditions putting the ECB’s interest-rate decisions back in the spotlight.

For Cyprus, those decisions directly affect mortgage repayments, business financing and deposit returns, making the choice of Lagarde’s successor particularly relevant to the island’s banking sector and wider economy.

The announcement also comes on the same day as the ECB’s latest monetary policy meeting, with policymakers expected to keep the deposit rate unchanged at 2.5 per cent, despite growing speculation that further increases could follow before the end of the year.

Rising oil prices, linked to the continuing Middle East conflict and disruptions to energy supplies, have complicated the inflation outlook, leaving the ECB balancing the need to control prices against the risk of putting further pressure on economic growth.

Lagarde, who took over from Mario Draghi in November 2019, has already overseen one of the most demanding periods in the bank’s history.

Her presidency began shortly before the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequently saw the eurozone confront the economic consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, soaring inflation, the energy crisis and an aggressive series of interest-rate increases.

As the Financial Times reports, her seven years at the ECB have been dominated by exceptional economic and geopolitical crises, including the pandemic, war in Europe, a major inflation shock and trade tensions with the United States.

The newspaper also recalled that Lagarde, now 70, had previously admitted believing she would serve for five years rather than eight when she accepted the position following discussions with French president Emmanuel Macron.

Her early exit follows months of speculation about her future, with the World Economic Forum emerging as a possible next destination. According to the Financial Times, she has been in discussions about taking over as its chair, although no appointment has been confirmed.

Lagarde will become only the second ECB president to leave before completing a full term, following the bank’s first president, Wim Duisenberg, who departed after five years.

Attention is now turning to who will replace her, with former Dutch central bank governor Klaas Knot and former Bank of Spain governor Pablo Hernandez de Cos among the leading names being discussed.

The Financial Times reports that the Dutch government is backing Knot, while Spain supports Hernandez de Cos, who currently serves as general manager of the Bank for International Settlements.

Their potential appointments come at a time when the ECB is preparing for a broader change in its senior leadership.

Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel is leaving on January 3, 2027, a year before the end of her term, to take up a senior position at the International Monetary Fund, while ECB chief economist Philip Lane’s term expires in May.

The three departures mean European leaders will have to settle several important appointments within a relatively short period, raising questions about the future balance of views within the ECB’s six-member Executive Board.

The timing is politically significant, too. By leaving in February, Lagarde gives European leaders an opportunity to agree on a successor before France’s presidential election in spring 2027.

Costa has confirmed that the process of choosing a new president will begin immediately, with the European Council responsible for making the final appointment.

Under the EU’s appointment rules, any candidate must secure the support of at least 16 of the eurozone’s 21 member countries, representing no less than 65 per cent of the currency area’s population.

The process also involves consultation with the European Parliament and the ECB’s Governing Council before the European Council makes its decision.

Cyprus will have a say through its participation in the eurozone, while Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) governor Christodoulos Patsalides sits on the ECB’s Governing Council, which is responsible for setting monetary policy across the currency bloc.

A change of president does not automatically mean a change in interest rates, since monetary policy decisions are taken collectively. Nevertheless, the next ECB chief will inherit an institution facing difficult choices over inflation, economic growth and the cost of credit, with the latest rise in energy prices making those decisions all the more complicated.

Eurobank has completed its €813 million acquisition of the remaining 80 per cent of Greek life insurer Eurolife Life Insurance, bringing its ownership to 100 per cent, while the sale of a 45 per cent stake in its Cypriot non-life insurance subsidiary to Fairfax Financial Holdings is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

The bank announced the completion on Thursday, following the receipt of the necessary regulatory approvals and the fulfilment of the relevant closing conditions.

The transaction involved the acquisition of 80 per cent of Eurolife FFH Life Insurance Single Member Société Anonyme Company, which operates under the name Eurolife FFH Life Insurance SA, from entities controlled by Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited.

The deal follows earlier announcements made in October of 2025, and May of 2026, and represents a significant step in Eurobank’s strategy to expand its insurance business and diversify its sources of revenue.

With full ownership of Eurolife Life, one of Greece’s leading life insurance companies, the bank aims to strengthen its position in the insurance market and further develop its bancassurance activities, which combine banking and insurance services.

Eurobank said the acquisition would allow it to build on Eurolife Life’s established market position and distribution network.

The bank had announced in May that the consideration for the acquisition amounted to approximately €813m, with the transaction expected to be completed during the third quarter of 2026.

The completion announcement did not provide an update on the previously disclosed estimated impact of the acquisition on the group’s profit and loss account or its common equity tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio, which measures a bank’s financial strength.

The sale of part of Eurobank’s Cypriot insurance business remains pending, with the bank expecting to complete the disposal of a 45 per cent stake in ERB Asfalistiki Limited to Fairfax affiliates by the end of 2026.

The transaction remains subject to the outstanding regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.

Eurobank announced the planned sale in May, when it said the deal was expected to generate cash consideration of approximately €55m.

The disposal concerns ERB Asfalistiki, the group’s non-life insurance subsidiary in Cyprus, and forms part of the wider arrangements involving Fairfax.

The May announcement had indicated that the agreement relating to the Cypriot business was expected to be signed in the following weeks, subject to the necessary corporate approvals.

The completion of the Greek life insurance acquisition now gives Eurobank full ownership of Eurolife Life, while the separate transaction involving its Cypriot non-life insurance business remains outstanding.

CySEC warns investors about AI-generated scams and false advice

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has stepped up efforts to protect investors from online scams and artificial intelligence-generated investment fraud, as part of its participation in World Investor Week 2026, while continuing financial education programmes in schools across Cyprus until December.

The regulator on Thursday announced that it took part in the international initiative for the eighth consecutive year, focusing on emerging digital investment risks, strengthening financial resilience and helping the public make informed investment decisions.

World Investor Week is an initiative of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), which seeks to raise awareness of investment risks and promote responsible investing.

CySEC’s campaign placed particular emphasis on fraudulent practices involving misleading online advertisements, false investment recommendations and deceptive content generated using artificial intelligence (AI).

The regulator stressed the importance of staying informed, carefully assessing investment opportunities and checking the credibility of investment service providers before committing money.

Public awareness activities included daily targeted posts on CySEC’s social media accounts, as well as appearances on television news and current affairs programmes.

The commission also encouraged the investment firms and other entities it supervises to help spread the campaign’s messages.

As part of the initiative, CySEC produced a Smart Investor Booklet outlining the main messages of World Investor Week 2026, alongside an investor guide titled ‘Knowledge, Protection and Safer Investment Decisions’.

Both publications form part of the regulator’s wider financial education programme.

School lectures to continue until December

Financial education for younger people remains a central element of CySEC’s work, with the sixth cycle of its school lectures already under way and scheduled to continue until December 2026.

The commission is also planning lectures at universities, extending its educational activities beyond the annual World Investor Week campaign.

The presentations cater for primary school pupils, lower and upper secondary school students, and those attending technical schools.

To support the programme, CySEC has developed new educational material tailored to different age groups and educational levels, together with a presenter’s guide intended to ensure that key financial education messages are delivered consistently and effectively.

The aim is to equip school and university students with essential financial knowledge and use practical examples to help them identify investment risks and protect themselves against potential fraud.

The initiative also seeks to strengthen students’ critical thinking skills when evaluating information and investment proposals encountered online, where misleading claims and fraudulent offers can be difficult to distinguish from legitimate opportunities.

CySEC said the educational programme had become an established part of its activities, with officials having visited 88 schools across Cyprus and provided financial education to more than 3,400 students during the previous five cycles of lectures.

Education seen as essential to investor protection

“Investment fraud is becoming increasingly sophisticated and difficult to detect,” said CySEC chairman George Karatzias, stressing that protecting investors required more than regulatory supervision.

“This is why investor protection requires not only effective supervision but also continuous public awareness and education,” he added.

“Through our initiatives, we aim to strengthen people’s ability to recognise risks and make informed decisions, while systematically investing in the financial education of the younger generation,” Karatzias continued.

The regulator said financial education and investor protection remained longstanding priorities, with its initiatives aligned with Cyprus’ National Strategy for Financial Literacy.

CySEC also actively contributes to the work of the Cyprus Financial Literacy and Education Committee (CyFLEC), which supports efforts to improve financial knowledge and understanding across the population.

Information and educational resources, including the material developed for World Investor Week 2026, are available through CySEC’s Financial Education Portal.