Coalition won’t allow funds to buy bad loans, says Dragasakis

Deputy Prime Minister Yiannis Dragasakis on Saturday appeared to rule out the possibility of the government allowing banks to sell portfolios of nonperforming loans to so-called distressed-debt funds.

“We refuse to accept any notion of buying and selling loans,” he told Parliament during the debate that preceded a vote on the bank recapitalization bill on Saturday. Dragasakis said that the government is willing to accept the “restructuring of loans.”

Dealing with the rising number of loans that are not being serviced on time is one of the key unresolved issues between Greece and its lenders.

The institutions want stricter criteria to be introduced for nonperforming housing loans, with banks foreclosing on the homes of anyone who lives above the poverty line and whose property is worth more than 120,000 euros.