Lenders freeze debtors’ assets outside Greece

Greek banks are resorting to freezing the foreign accounts of debtors in an effort to collect part of the dues of those considered to be strategic defaulters.

Eurobank was the first to resort to the measure, as according to Bloomberg it froze an account in Belgium belonging to a well-known Greek entrepreneur over debts to the bank totaling 4.8 million euros.

It had been five years since the man stopped servicing his debts, during which time the bank estimates he collected dividends of 6 million euros. The Greek lender had twice attempted to liquidate the assets of the food entrepreneur, but in both cases the auctions were postponed due to action by protesters.

The report added that the same practice is to be followed by National Bank, which has already applied to enforce the European Bank Account Freezing Order, which has been in place since January 2017. Freezing an account in another European Union member-state is not an interbank affair as it requires a court decision.