State Minister Alekos Flambouraris, representatives of the Hellenic Bank Association, and the CEO’s of Greece’s four systemic banks finalised details of the new framework for the protection of debtors’ primary residence from foreclosure.
Flamboruraris has been appointed by PM Alexis Tsipras to handle on the government’s part the thorny issues of non-performing loans and protection from foreclosure.
The government is expected to table next week the new law that will replace the previous protection framework, the so-called Katseli law, which expires on 28 February.
Sources say that at today’s meeting at the PM’s Maximos Mansion, which lasted over three hours, the participants obtained in a telephone communication the approval of the ECB’s Single Supervisory Mechanism, which had expressed objections to elements of the original plan.
The two sides agreed that the maximum tax value of the protected property will be 250,000 euros and the maximum value of the remainder of a loan for which a home was used as collateral will be 130,000.
The banks sought a single law that will cover both those who enjoyed protection under the old law and new applicants. As the SSM underlined, all countries have a single law regarding the arrangement of the loans of debtors who have gone bankrupt, and the subsidies and social protection is offered by other agencies, including municipalities.
The construction of the electronic platform to process the applications will begin immediately and it will be the only vehicle for the protection of debtors’ primary residence from creditors. The system is expected to be in full swing in three months.
Then over-indebted households will have 12 months to submit the application, while certain vulnerable categories such as the unemployed and handicapped will have a three-year period.
