Finance minister meets with bankers on vulnerable borrowers

Greek Finance Minister Christos Staikouras met on Wednesday with the heads of banks on their proposals to help vulnerable borrowers.

The subject of discussion involved borrowers who are up to date on their payments and whose repayment instalments rose since the summer of 2022, with the rise in interest rates. The government has been pressuring banks to come up with solutions to help borrowers meet their obligations.

The meeting concluded without any statements by either side.

‘Difficult’ negotiations

In later statements, to parliamentary reporters, Staikouras said that negotiations with bank representatives over vulnerable borrowers were “difficult” and “conducted in a negative climate.”

While the Parliament plenary debated the 2023 state budget for the second day, Staikouras told the Greek press that the meeting’s result was “partially satisfactory,” since, as he said, “we are rescuing 30,000 fellow citizens.” The banks, he revealed, will announce shortly that they will cover 50% of the raise in an instalment for 30,000 vulnerable borrowers, something that “has not happened in any other European state except Spain,” which called on banks to volunteer to help. 

The Greek banks proposed a 12-month measure, which – as the government requested – will not affect the state budget since such an alternative would create problems with the ECB’s Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) and the Competition Commission. 

Staikouras is expected to refer to the issue in the Parliament plenary on Friday, when he is scheduled to speak on the draft budget for 2023.

During his discussion with bankers, the finance minister said, also raised was the issue of banks’ fees on various transactions and the extrajudicial settlement of cases. In the last 20 days, 500 citizens have received a repayment plan, he said.

A new meeting with banks is scheduled for early in 2023. [AMNA]