Negotiations with bank representatives over vulnerable borrowers were "difficult" and "conducted in a negative climate," Greek Finance Minister Christos Staikouras told parliamentary reporters on Wednesday.
While the Parliament plenary debated the 2023 state budget for the second day, Staikouras told the Greek press that the meeting's result was "partially satisfactory," since, as he said, "we are rescuing 30,000 fellow citizens." The banks, he revealed, will announce shortly that they will cover 50% of the raise in an instalment for 30,000 vulnerable borrowers, something that "has not happened in any other European state except Spain," which called on banks to volunteer to help.
The Greek banks proposed a 12-month measure, which - as the government requested - will not affect the state budget since such an alternative would create problems with the ECB's Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) and the Competition Commission.
Staikouras is expected to refer to the issue in the Parliament plenary on Friday, when he is scheduled to speak on the draft budget for 2023.
During his discussion with bankers, the FinMin said, also raised was the issue of banks' fees on various transactions and the extrajudicial settlement of cases. In the last 20 days, 500 citizens have received a repayment plan, he said.
A new meeting with banks is scheduled for early in 2023.