The Finance Ministry has announced that distressed borrowers can submit their applications for the “Estia”, a scheme in place since September in an effort to reduce high non-performing loans, even if they are incomplete or are not accompanied by all the necessary paperwork.
The deadline for the application procedure is today, December 31, 2019.
Eligible borrowers are those who on end-September 2017 had non-performing loans with their primary residences pledged as collateral. The government will subsidize the approved borrowers with one-third of their revised repayment plan.
“The deadline for the application procedure is today, December 31, 2019.”
The scheme was put in place as an additional tool to assist non-performing mortgage borrowers, as part of the efforts to reduce high Non-performing loans in the Cyprus banking system. Georgiades has described mortgage NPLs as the most difficult group to resolve.
In a press release, the Ministry says that all applications submitted on December 31, will be accepted even if the data included within are incomplete or are not accompanied by the necessary paperwork.
“Applications will be accepted even if the data included within are incomplete or are not accompanied by the necessary paperwork.”
Applicants will have the opportunity of ensuring that all the necessary data and paperwork has been submitted until March 31, 2020, while banking and other credit institutions will review the applications until April 30, 2020, the press release adds.
What is ESTIA?
“The ESTIA scheme has been developed in co-operation with specialized consultants and in constant consultation with the European Institutions, aiming at: a) the protection of the Primary Residency and b) the mitigation of the issue of non-performing loans in the Cypriot banking system. Its implementation is expected to have a positive impact on the resilience of Cypriot Banks.” [Source: Ministry of Finance]
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