Mortgage-backed security

As of Monday the obligation of credit managers to put into operation the special digital information platform for borrowers to provide personalized information is in operation.

The Ministry of National Economy and Finance established this obligation in order to improve the provision of services to borrowers and to effectively deal with communication difficulties.

The Hellenic Land Registry has decided to close 139 offices across the country, with their services transferred to the nearest branch or office of the registry. Less than 26 mortgage offices remain to be closed. The challenge is to ensure their smooth integration, as some 150,000 pending cases have also been "transferred."       

The housing market has recently evolved into one of the most profitable investments, with a return of up to 126% during the last five years (2017-2022).

Those brave enough to acquire an apartment in Attica during 2017 - i.e. when the real estate market began its recovery - are today the big winners, as they have seen the value of their investment more than double.

"1.8% - this is the optimistic option for the growth of the economy. The Bulgarian National Bank, for example, predicts 0.4% growth. This is a positive realistic option. There are also options with a recession, which are even more frightening.

Credit Suisse said yesterday it would pay $495 million as part of a deal reached with U.S. prosecutors in a long-running dispute over mortgage-backed securities, settling one of the last legal cases dating back to the 2008 financial crisis.    

Loans whose repayments have been frozen due to the pandemic add up to 30 billion euros, concerning some 400,000 individual and corporate borrowers, according to the Hellenic Bank Association. The moratorium on tranche payments expires on March 31.

Taxpayers and companies with debts to the state have until Thursday to apply for re-entering the payment plans of 100-120 tranches, and must also pay December's installment.

The tranches missed as a result of the pandemic - from March up to November - will be added after the end of the debt settlement program.

Servicers are handling bad loans of 30.8 billion euros, Bank of Greece data showed on Tuesday, as the companies that have taken on banks' nonperforming loans increased their portfolios in the first quarter of the year by €7.3 billion.

Greek banks are beginning the securitization of their bad loans planned for 2020 amid increased uncertainty related to the duration of the economic crisis and its impact on nonperforming credit portfolios.

Defaulted loans are a prime economic issue for Cyprus, which since a 2013 financial crisis has seen overdue payments weigh on consumers and banks. Yet a government scheme to ease the problem has not been embraced by borrowers as hoped.