Development Ministry prepares plan to help firms with their NPLs

The government is planning on tabling an extraordinary two-year plan to deal with businesses’ non-performing loans (NPLs), Development Ministry sources said on Monday.

Greece plans to present the scheme to the troika, which is due to begin its review on Tuesday. It was the subject of a discussion between Finance Minister Gikas Hardouvelis and Development Minister Nikos Dendias.

Sources said that the deal on NPLs would not affect Greek banks’ capital adequacy as any losses would be balanced against the 3-billion-euro cushion created by a recent government decision on lenders’ deferred tax assets.

The same sources said that any agreement would involve a reduction on the interest and penalties rather than on the principal owed by bank customers.