The government is informing the House of Representatives today of the overall package of proposals on the subject of expropriations, which, among other things, includes the suspension of expropriations until the end of October, and the creation of a special jurisdiction in the Courts to hear NDE cases, as stated by the Minister Finance Makis Keravnos.
This package will be submitted ahead of tomorrow’s session of the Plenary of the Parliament, during which a law proposal will be put to the vote, which gives borrowers the right to appeal to the Court to secure a decree suspending the sale process, for which the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank have warn of a series of potential negative effects.
“The government’s intention is to submit a comprehensive package to deal with the issue of NEDs and sales”, said Mr. Keravnos, in his statements after the session of the Council of Ministers. He added that “today we will inform the Parliament in writing, as the President of the Republic has announced, about the package of measures that we will submit”.
Referring to yesterday’s constructive contacts with the Association of Cyprus Banks and the Association of Credit Acquisition Companies, Mr. Keravnos said that “I expect that an announcement will be issued today that the sales are suspended until the end of October”.
The suspension of sales will give the government time to present and make all arrangements to complete the package of measures, which will include, among other things, differentiating the terms of the Hesia Scheme to include more eligible borrowers, formal approval of the plan tenant against installment, to strengthen the powers of the Financial Commissioner.
“This will give some time to take all the necessary actions in order to ensure a better perspective on this matter”, stressed the Minister of Finance.
Mr. Keravnos underlined at this point that “the intentions of the government have already been deleted, the intention is not to alter an existing stable system of divestments protecting our economy and at the same time to relieve those groups who are concerned about the NED issue updating in the next few hours, tomorrow with a total package of measures”.
Asked about the bill to create a special jurisdiction in the District Courts for examining cases of financial disputes of borrowers, Mr. Keravnos said that the government’s intentions are to table a bill regarding a special jurisdiction, “so that we can ensure faster decision-making on these matters.”
Because, he explained, “one of the big problems in this effort is the delay in making decisions in the administration of justice”.
When asked if the package that will be announced addresses the concerns of the parliamentarians in order to prevent the passing of the proposed law, Mr. Keravnos said that this is what we are aiming for, and we intend with the package of integrated measures to convince all those involved that this is a correct way to deal with this issue.
Answering a question about whether there will be a memorandum of understanding with the banks regarding the suspension of sales, Mr. Keravnos said that there is no issue of mutual understanding, but there is mutual understanding.
“I think”, he continued, “and the banks and everyone realizes the risks if a proper way out is not given that ensures the vulnerable borrowers but at the same time ensures the stability of the foreclosure system”.
Finally, when asked if any decisions were made by the government regarding the Financial Commissioner whose term ended on June 30, Mr. Keravnos limited himself to stating that the issue is being examined by the government.
