Despite efforts to tackle Greece’s mounting private debt – now totaling €89 billion – millions of borrowers remain off the radar, making regulation and recovery more difficult, industry leaders warned at the 10th Delphi Economic Forum.

Tasos Panousis, CEO of loan servicer doValue, revealed that while the company manages 1 million clients, it only has complete data on half of them. Without visibility, it’s harder to regulate and recover debts, he noted.

The issue spans the broader industry. Thodoris Athanasopoulos, CEO of Cepal Greece and President of the Association of Loan and Credit Claims Management Companies (EEDADP), said that out of 2.7 million debtors managed by servicers, only 57,000 have signed up on online platforms designed to give them access to their debt and credit information.

Of these 2.7 million debtors, around 600,000 are tied to a state-supported securitization scheme. Another 1.5 million are borrowers whose non-performing loans have been sold off to funds, while the remainder still have non-performing loans held directly by banks.

Panousis expressed confidence in the state-backed securitization program, noting that five out of seven loan bundles managed by doValue are exceeding expectations. The two underperforming portfolios involve around 100,000 borrowers whose settled loans were supposed to return to banks – a step that has not happened yet.

This return would boost bank revenues and help borrowers regain access to credit, he explained, urging quick action on viable debt settlements to prevent the cost from falling on taxpayers.

Currently, an estimated 700,000 properties are linked to non-performing loans. Only 13,000 of these have so far come into the ownership of loan management funds. Panousis emphasized the importance of avoiding property auctions, calling them “costly and time-consuming,” and urging instead for consensual solutions to be reached directly with borrowers.

Original Story: Ekathimerini | Author: Evgenia Tzortzi
Edition: Prime Yield
Photo: David Tip / Unsplashed