Ministry asks HFSF to go ahead with NPE guarantee mechanism

The Finance Ministry (pictured) has given the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund the nod for the creation of a mechanism to guarantee the transfer of a part of banks' bad loans in an effort to contain nonperforming exposures, HFSF chief executive officer Martin Czurda said yesterday.

"The finance minister, whom I met last Monday, is convinced about the importance of creating a guarantee mechanism," the fund's head told a conference in Athens.

He also noted that the initiative on which the HFSF is working should be based on the Italian model as it will securitize debts of 10-15 billion euros.