Katseli law extension to be shelved

While the government appears to be considering extending the protection of debtors' main residence in some form, this is not likely to be in the context of existing legislation which expires at the end of the year.

Meanwhile, talks with creditors on the possibility of a fresh repayment plan for up to 120 installments have frozen.

Just over 10 weeks before the expiry of the law named after the former economy minister who introduced it, Louka Katseli, Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Yiannis Dragasakis appeared on Tuesday unwilling to commit to the possibility of the law being extended into 2019, even if stricter inclusion criteria were introduced.

One of the proposals the minister made was for banks themselves to grant a haircut on mortgages, thereby preventing borrowers from having to take recourse to justice.

"The Katseli law was the product...