09.12.2023
President Nicos Christodoulides expressed satisfaction with the passage of a series of debt collection bills on Friday, underscoring a commitment to speed up procedures to address risks to the country’s economy posed by non-performing loans.
“I am optimistic that the implementation of sound policies will strengthen our economy and bring further growth and progress to our country,” President Christodoulides said in a statement.
The President noted that “the approval by the House of Representatives plenary of bills complementing the package of measures to combat non-performing loans and protect vulnerable borrowers marks an important milestone for the financial stability and financial prospects of our country.”
He argued that non-performing loans pose a threat to financial stability and financial confidence in the country.
The non-performing loan ratio at Cypriot banks stood at 8.6% in August, down from 10.6% in September 2022, and has dropped significantly from the 50-plus percent during the financial crisis and bank collapse in 2012.
The government’s package of foreclosure bills successfully came into force on Friday, highlighting a commitment to speed up the foreclosure process and give enhanced powers to the financial ombudsman.
However, some MPs criticized these events, and the AKEL MP Giorgos Loukaides said those who supported the bills “want to protect the banks and turn away poor borrowers.”
Disy MP Harris Georgiades said what came before the laws was not a perfect solution, but an improvement. He stressed that existing problems will not go away, but it will not mean mass foreclosures.
DIKO MP Nicholas Papadopoulos said that the day’s vote saw seven of the government’s eight measures implemented, with the exception of the Estia plan , which is still under consideration. “The choice that the deputies faced at the plenum was whether they would support honest borrowers or protect dishonest ones,” he added.
