More than 80 pct of Greeks are having difficulties repaying loans
At least eight in every 10 citizens who have taken out a loan are having trouble with repayment, while the problem is greater among households with children and those from the lower social strata, according to a survey conducted by Public Issue for the 2012 period.
Over three in four households (78 percent) said they are having problems in paying their installments to banks, while 6 percent say they are totally unable to do so. Given that there are some 1.5 million households in Greece with debts to banks, the survey found, this means that about 1.2 million families are unable to pay installments on time.
This total of 84 percent is far higher than the respective rate of 60 percent in 2009, before the country entered the fiscal streamlining process. Ninety percent of corporate loans are facing servicing problems while 86 percent of consumer loans are not paid on time. Regarding house repair loans, 82 percent are having trouble with their repayments. Surprisingly, 68 percent of borrowers say they have not attempted to have their loans restructured, against just 29 percent who said they have secured a settlement and 2 percent who tried but failed.
