Bank of Greece says $26.3 bln bad loans serviced by specialist firms in Q4

Credit servicing firms (CSFs) licensed by Greece's central bank were servicing a total of 23.5 billion euros ($26.3 billion) of non-performing loans at the end of December, it said on Monday.

Greek banks have been working to reduce about 75.4 billion euros in bad loans at the end of June, the legacy of a financial crisis that shrank the country's economy by a quarter.

Shedding these is crucial for their ability to lend and shore up profitability.

The Bank of Greece has licensed a total of 18 credit servicers to operate in the country, including Cepal, Eurobank FPS, Pillarstone and Cerved Credit Management.

Non-performing corporate credit made up 27 percent of the total being serviced, the central bank said.

The data showed that out of a total of 13.86 billion euros of non-performing loans to individual borrowers, 81 percent had to do with consumer loans, while soured mortgages made up 19 percent.

[Reuters]