Galery

1

Specific facilities exist for civil servants and pensioners whose incomes have been severely affected by the crisis and whose contributions are deducted directly from their salary or pension, if the loan is taken from certain banks. Such facilities are the extension of the time for payment of up to 15 years from the date of granting for consumer loans and of up to 40 years for residential loans with a grace period of one to four months without payment of contributions with the possibility of further extension or of interest payment only.

Consumer loans

In consumer lending regulations do not differ much from those of home loans.

However, if the borrowers have a property they are willing to mortgage, there is a possibility the interest rate to be reduced significantly and to increase the period of the loan's payout to up to 30 years. Thus, the monthly payment is significantly reduced.

Corporate loans

Apparently business loans are the biggest "headache" of bankers as the financial condition of companies is closely linked to the recession. In the past, loans from banks were secured by company assets (stocks, bonds, contracts), but now their value is greatly diminished. So it comes to a very diverse group of loans, the settlement of which is different and is decided depending on the viability of each company.

What is the situation today

According to the market, it is believed that the number of loans where there is a delay in repayment, has reached 15 per cent, or 38 billion euro, despite the continuous attempts by the banks to settle them. According to bankers, restructuring of loans granted in the past is the only solution to keep the "bad" loans at the lowest possible levels, as the recession affecting the Greek economy has resulted in the inability of thousands of companies and individuals to repay their obligations.

What solutions are the banks resorting to

The decisions the banks are resorting to vary and depend on the type of loan, the borrower's age, the size of the debt, the economic situation of the debtor, financial recovery criteria for the borrower, guarantors and others.

The applicable regulations can vary between banks, but follow the same philosophy and do not differ much in the main points.