Data on non-performing loans (NPLs) shows that their rate has dropped significantly, Alternate Finance Minister Nikos Papathanassis told a parliament committee on Wednesday, ANA reports.
During a debate on the bill “New Development Program for Public Investments,” which will head to the plenary for debate and vote on Thursday, Papathanassis responded to harsh criticism by opposition parties accusing the government of leaving vulnerable social groups at the mercy of banks and debt servicers.
The minister rejected the charges, responding that the government’s initiatives led to “reducing the rate of ‘red loans’ to 7.5% in 2024, from over 40% in 2019.”
Specifically, NPL bank and servicer loans totaled 92.2 billion euros in 2020-2021, while in the first quarter of 2024, they had dropped to 70.4 billion euros, he said. “In 2019, NPLs accounted for nearly 50% of all loans of the economy, while this rate has dropped significantly to 32%,” Papathanassis said.
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