Vulnerable debtors get a reprieve
Banks announced on Friday that they have decided to suspend auctions of primary residences belonging to vulnerable borrowers until the end of the year.
The Hellenic Bank Association said that lenders will examine the demands for the suspension of primary residence auctions until December 31, 2020, for any borrowers belonging to the category of vulnerable households, as determined by the relevant ministerial decision of 2019.
The condition for such a suspension is the submission of a request by the vulnerable debtor to the bank and a declaration allowing bank secrecy rules to be waived so as to establish whether the debtor belongs to the vulnerable category. Where the criteria for considering a borrower vulnerable are not fulfilled, the auction procedures will continue as planned.
Banks are also calling on borrowers who have conceded their main residence as collateral for a loan to apply for the Finance Ministry’s “Bridge” (“Gefyra” in Greek) program, which provides for the subsidization of loan tranches.
Banks have so far made installment payment suspensions for loans adding up to 21 billion euros. Until the end of the year this is expected to climb to €30 billion.
