Financial law

At the very end of 2019 the state paid the first four subsidy tranches of mortgage loans for as many borrowers who have had their bank debt repayments arranged through the online platform of the Special Secretariat for Private Debt.

The measure of the progressively protected bank account for each individual or corporation with tax overdue arrears under arrangement will become active as of January 2020. This concerns debtors who have entered any payment plan and have been consistent in meeting their obligations to it.

Any taxpayers unable to meet their obligations to the state in 2020 will be able to settle their debts in 24 installments without any income criteria, but at a higher rate of interest, according to a new Finance Ministry plan.

Large investments are important and one can only hope that either those whose implementation we have been awaiting for several years finally become unstuck or other new ones get under way. However, we should not underestimate the importance of Greece's small and medium-sized businesses. The country must boost its own production.

The government has committed itself to paying off all its expired dues to third parties by the end of 2020, with the exception of some special cases, whose repayment will be completed by end-2021, according to a detailed scheduled the Finance Ministry has sent to the country's creditors.

The government plans to introduce legislation that seeks to simplify the repayment of debts by individuals and businesses to tax authorities, social insurance funds and banks.
The underlying principle of the new framework will be that the number of installments will depend on the income but also on the period when the debt became overdue.

Greece's creditors appear to be close to an agreement with the government for the doubling of the number of installments in the standard mechanism for the repayment of tax dues with a minimum monthly amount of 15 euros.
However, inclusion in the scheme will not be at all easy, while the number of tranches granted will depend on income criteria.

The Labor Ministry is examining a plan that would see the securitization of major debtors' dues to the social security funds and the concession of their management to third parties.

The Labor Ministry has included a clause in the government's investment incentives bill, which is currently up for public consultation, aiming to convince thousands of Greeks with debts to social security funds to join a settlement program by September 30. The target is for at least 10 percent of the total 35 billion euros of contributions owed to enter a settlement mechanism.

Greek banks are pursuing a policy of carrot and stick regarding debtors, depending on the latter's attitude toward the settlement of their arrears: For those who refuse to cooperate, the banks are preparing auctions of their assets; for those who choose to cooperate and have their debts arranged, they are offering generous haircuts on their dues; and the lenders are now offering rewards to thos