Banks ponder new boost for borrowers

Mortgage and consumer loan debtors will pay monthly tranches reduced by up to 60% as of 2021, according to the programs banks are examining as part of measures to facilitate the repayment of the debts that were put on ice due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The reduced installments will apply to three, six or even 12 months, with a gradually return to pre-Covid levels; as regards corporate credit, the measure whereby only the interest is paid could be extended to 2021.

Sources say that the measure of gradually adjusting the tranches will not apply to borrowers who enter the Finance Ministry’s Gefyra tranche subsidy program. Some 136,000 borrowers have already applied to join the Gefyra scheme.

The tranche moratorium program that banks have applied since the spring lockdown will expire at the end of December and, according to data Kathimerini has collected, concerns 380,000 loans to date with a total value of 25 billion euros. Almost half of them are mortgages, loans to very small enterprises and consumer loans, with the rest concerning medium-sized and large enterprises.