Foreclosure auctions postponed for three weeks
Auctions of properties seized by banks to pay odd bad debts have been postponed until after the holiday season in Athens, Piraeus and the Dodecannese islands.
Notaries in these three regions said on Tuesday that they will not attend physical auctions until at least January 10 unless the government implements measures to protect them from verbal and physical attacks by anti-auction protesters.
The measure is not expected to affect online auctions, though it will mean more delays to banks’ efforts to lighten their pile of nonperforming loans.
Property auctions are being opposed by several vociferous anti-austerity groups that have been known to use physical violence.