Filenews 2 June 2022 - by Eleftheria Paizanos
The formula that will satisfy the government and the opposition parties in relation to the bills aimed at strengthening the legal framework for the management of non-performing loans and defining the licensing and operation of loan servicing companies, will be attempted to find on Monday during its session the Parliamentary Committee on Finance. The bills, which had to be approved at the end of December 2021, are the last prerequisite for the disbursement of the pending second tranche, amounting to €85 million, from the Recovery Fund.
According to information from "F", the two sides will seek to bridge their differences on the issue of guarantors. ELAM, EDEK, DIPA and Ecologists insist on their amendment, which prohibits the access of loan management companies to the data of guarantors, through the Artemis system and the Cadastre system. As we are informed, a few days ago the parties were put under intense pressure by the Ministry of Finance to withdraw their amendment, which they did not accept. In fact, the authors of the amendment have informed the government that they will insist to the end against the bill, if it does not include safeguards that will protect the guarantors and do not abuse the measure by the credit acquiring companies.
At the same time, they suggested that the audit be done through other ways, such as with banks and credit acquiring companies, with which there is a customer relationship. The Minister of Finance, the Director General of the Ministry, the Director General of the Directorate-General for Development, the Financial Commissioner, representatives of the Legal Service of the Republic and the Central Bank of Cyprus will participate in Monday's discussion, with the aim of finding a solution, as long as the prerequisites of the second instalment are delayed, the implementation of the milestones and the payment of the remaining instalments of money to the Republic will also be delayed.
Due to the criticality of the issue, it is not excluded that the debate in the Parliamentary Committee on Finance will take place behind closed doors, so that the various parties can exchange views and find the formula that will satisfy everyone.
At the same time, the Commission is awaiting information from the Cypriot authorities on these bills, making it a condition that they fulfil their purpose, i.e., that is, that they satisfactorily fulfil the objective of the reform to address the problem of non-performing loans. It is recalled that last April the Ministry of Finance forwarded to the European Commission the amendment of the three parties, which is a thorn in the completion of the milestones. The EU has issued a preliminary response, saying it is outside the target of reducing the volume of non-performing loans.
