Tsipras seeks gentlemen’s agreement with banks, attacks media

Having ruled out a legislative measure to extend protection of debtors’ primary residence from foreclosure, due to a lack of agreement with Greece’s creditors, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras sought a gentlemen’s agreement with the Hellenic Banks Association that would prioritise foreclosures of large properties owned by big debtors over small working class primary residences, with much lower debt levels.

The attempt to pressure bankers to exhibit an unusually class-based social sensitivity came on the heels of a spate of press reports on the auctions of small, working class foreclosed homes, which appeared to belie the government’s contention that these are protected (some Syriza cadres say there will be protection for primary residences with a maximum value of at least 150,000).

Tsipras attacked the media for allegedly disseminating fake news about foreclosures and auctions of small, working c lass homes, and he essentially called on banks to use their advertising, a crucial element in the print and broadcast media’s financing, to pressure the press.

While Tsipras’ lengthy pleas and admonitions were broadcast on national television, the reply of Hellenic Banks Association President Nikos Karamouzis and of his colleagues was not.

That is presumably because the bankers told the prime minister, according to sources, that they are going by the letter of the law.

The banks association proposed that the government pass a law that would truncate the lengthy period between the announcement of an auction and the date on which it is finally conducted, as it currently takes up to two years for the expensive properties of major debtors to reach the auction block.

Justice Minister Stavros Kontonis, who was present at the meeting, said he will immediately table a law to prosecute protesters who impede auctions, even as the government makes the transition to online auctions for all properties.

Aimilios Perdikaris, Elena Laskari