YIANNIS PAPADOYIANNIS

The restructuring of the bad loans of major enterprises is moving at snail’s pace, as banks have not yet achieved a satisfactory level of cooperation. Poor communication and different priorities and targets for each bank are creating obstacles, delays and postponements.

It remains hard for the private sector to get new credit, and particularly households.

Greek banks are preparing to reduce their nonperforming loans at a more aggressive rate. Sources say that the revised plans the lenders will submit this fall will contain targets above the 10-15 percent reduction – or some 10 billion euros – that the existing plans provide for.

The Bank of Greece reported on Wednesday signs of fatigue in the commercial lenders’ efforts to reduce their nonperforming loan (NPL) stock, reflecting the difficulties of the mission.

Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) chief Daniele Nouy held talks with the heads of the country’s four systemic banks on Monday. The discussions centered around the intensification of efforts to reduce bad-loan stocks, streamlining bank finances, financing the economy and the lenders’ corporate governance.

Following the successful completion of the stress tests, banks are now preparing to issue subordinated bonds, which until now had been effectively impossible.

The Bank of Greece announced on Saturday the successful completion of the European Central Bank’s exercise for domestic banks simulating an adverse economic scenario.

Leonidas Fragkiadakis, the chief executive of National Bank of Greece, tendered his resignation on Friday, on the eve of the release of the Greek lenders’ stress test results.

The country’s systemic banks will need to pick up their pace in tackling nonperforming loans after the announcement of the stress test results, expected on Saturday.