NICOSIA, May 20 (Reuters) - Bank of Cyprus will be reviewing its 2024 profit targets following a strong start to the year reflected in first-quarter earnings, its CEO said in an interview.

The bank last week posted a 39% year-on-year rise in first quarter pre-tax profit to 159 million euros ($172.71 million) and a 31% increase in net interest income to 213 million euros.

"Based on the results of (the first quarter), we are tracking ahead of our 2024 targets and we are planning to review these targets with our half-year results," Panicos Nicolaou said.

The bank, which holds a 43% market share in loans and 37% in deposits, gave in February a full-year net interest income target in excess of 670 million euros.

"The bank can provide sustainable profitability even with normalised rates," Nicolaou said.

The bank, founded in 1899, anticipates growth in its loan book in line with the expansion of the Cypriot economy, which, at a forecast 2.9% in 2024, is expected to outpace the euro zone average.

It also sees average organic growth of 6-8% per year in insurance gross written premiums, and expects its new Jinius project, a technology platform offering business-to-business and business-to-consumer services, to provide a new stream of revenue, Nicolaou said.

In April the bank successfully raised 300 million euros in a green bond, the first by a Cypriot lender in an issue more than four times oversubscribed.

Nicolaou and Eliza Livadiotou, the bank's Executive Director Finance, said Bank of Cyprus had already conducted climate risk assessments on the island, where weather extremes from forest fires and extended heatwaves to flash floods are getting more common.

"We have now mapped and traced the risks and we are trying to embed them in our underwriting processes and in pricing," said Livadiotou.

Nicolaou added: "We are being proactive now, to end up with a portfolio quality which is more robust and better prepared to deal with climate risks."

($1 = 0.9206 euros) (Reporting by Michele Kambas; Editing by Jan Harvey)