Marinakis: Bad loans dropped to 7.5% in March 2024 from 40% in 2019

The sharp reduction in the percentage of bad loans in bank portfolios since 2019, when New Democracy was voted into government, and the legislation dealing with local government issues, among others, were the topics highlighted by government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis during the daily press briefing on Monday.

He announced that parliament is on Tuesday to debate and vote on an interior ministry regulating issues relating to the improved operation of municipalities and regions, as well as with improving land border stations and the introduction for the first time of explicit rules governing their organisation, operation and modernisation, as well as matters that make the daily life of Greeks easier.

Regarding economic issues, he stated that Greece is still among the countries with a high percentage of non-performing loans but noted that this number is decreasing every month due to the government's legislative measures.

"We have established a strict framework for the operation and behaviour of funds/servicers (code of ethics), which is already producing good results for citizens, with fines reaching up to half a million euros, while for repeated offences they may be led to having their operating license revoked by the Bank of Greece. We improved the out-of-court settlement mechanism and made it mandatory for creditors to accept its proposals when we are talking about vulnerable [households], which led to a record high of 7.5 billion euros in debt settlements," he pointed out.

He emphasised that "the bad loans of all banks (systemic and non-systemic), with the help of the "Hercules" programme were reduced from 40% in July 2019 to 7.5% in March 2024. In total, for both banks and services, they were reduced from 92 billion euros in 2020-2021 to 69 billion euros in 2023."

Marinakis also placed emphasis on the higher fines imposed under new legislation for the unauthorised use of public spaces and the tightening of penalties in order to free up public space and allow pedestrians to pass unhindered. He underlined that even stricter provisions apply in special cases of such misuse, such as obstructing the paths to guide the sight-impaired, with penalties as strict as revoking a business's license.

Marinakis further noted action to "facilitate the implementation of significant projects in the regions, with faster processes for the immediate completion of critical interventions."

Lastly, he referred to the one-year anniversary "of the terrorist attack in Israel that led to the deaths of hundreds of innocent civilians" and announced that

the prime minister will go to Dubrovnik on Wednesday to participate in the Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summit.