Servicing

Banks are responding to the climate of caution among households as regards taking out a loan with new cuts in mortgage rates, in a bid to spark the interest of potential new buyers. They are also extending, until the end of the year, the interest rate freeze in force since last May for existing borrowers.

Banks have already decided to extend the freezing of interest rates on housing loans, which was decided last May and expires in the same month of 2024.

The European Commission has approved Greece's home protection scheme, which supports householders who cannot meet mortgage payments and are at risk of losing their primary residence.
The Commission said on Thursday the scheme did not violate state aid rules.

European Stability Mechanism chief Klaus Regling this week drew a parallel between Greece and postwar Germany, which only finished paying off its obligations from the 1953 London Agreement in 2010, while arguing that if the extension of the loans to Athens is sufficient - and the annual cost of servicing the debt does not exceed a certain amount - then they will be repaid.