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Greek banking circles are seriously affected by the reports that have appeared in recent days that financial institutions are preparing for a general write-off of housing and consumer loans, and there are even talks of a 30% to 40% write-off of all loans granted. Representatives of the Association of Greek Banks argue that this information has made many customers to begin delaying their payments, although they have no financial difficulties. They recall that anyway, the Greek banks have already revised the conditions under which they have granted 750,000 loans to individuals and families.
    The Association recognized that due to the lack of experience many mistakes have been made and once revised, the loans had to be revised a second and even a third time to find a compromise solution favourable to the family budget. It advises the interested households to contact the specific bank with a request to revise the payment terms of the loan. Monthly instalments can be reduced in several ways – by deferring the payments for several months during which only the interest on the loan is paid, by increasing the loan maturity through reducing the monthly payment, by temporarily suspending the payments, which may be extended to two years in certain cases.
    If the customer fails to agree with the bank, he or she may turn to the district court. In this case, the customer is required to submit a document proving his income status, a document for his or her obligations to banks and a plan suggesting the settlement of the monthly payments. In this case, the customer needs a lawyer or the support of organizations protecting consumer rights. There is always a way to find a mutually acceptable solutions with the bank before the court rules out. If no such a solution is reached, however, there remains only the judgement of the court. If it finds that the claimant has no income and property, it may decide to write off some of the customer’s debts, to give him extra time to 20 years to repay the outstanding loan amount and to rule out a deferral of payments to 4 years.
    However, only those customers who have no income and property are allowed to turn to the court. In this case, the court may write off the whole debt to the bank if it finds that the claimant is unable to find work in the coming years. It may rule out a deferral of payments for 4 years and until it is effective, to inspect the customer again, but not earlier than 6 months from the issuing date of the judgment, to see if there is a change in the customer’s financial condition. If there is no change in the financial condition of the customer after these four years, the court may even write off his debts in full.