Bankruptcy

The effort to reduce bad loans in banks' portfolios remains the focus of talks at the start of the fourth review, as the country's creditors are pressing for the lifting of all barriers, the acceleration of auctions, the facilitation of sales and the settlement of debts.

Companies such as the Hellenic Sugar Industry (EBZ) and the Larco General Mining & Metallurgical Company are on the verge of bankruptcy and closure. Their common denominator is that for years they were managed by the state and by political party appointees, not being operated as enterprises but rather as instruments to serve political clientele.

Banks are placing emphasis on long-term debt settlements, particularly for mortgage loans, which under certain conditions would include forgiving part of the original amount owed.

The Labor Ministry is juggling two hot potatoes ahead of the completion of the third bailout review: the change to the process for calling a strike at unions on a company level and the restructuring of the criteria for family allowances.

Applications to enter the new, 120-tranche payment scheme for the settlement of social security arrears up to 50,000 euros will be accepted from January.

Greek tobacco industry SEKAP is on Thursday likely to decide to go bankrupt at an extraordinary board meeting it called following a court verdict on past debts.

More than eight months after the Croatian state took control of the hugely indebted Agrokor company, the management has decided to transform debts owed to creditors into ownership of the company.

The beginning of the new millenium was a period of significant reform in Slovenia as the country prepared to join the European Union in 2004. A new insolvency law was adopted in 2007 but it was inadequate, it did not cope with the challenging economic and financial conditions brought on by the global financial crisis of 2008; many companies became insolvent.

Greece's exchange of sovereign bonds held by private sector creditors is another step toward the resumption of regular bond issuance, Fitch Ratings said on Monday.

The legal framework for streamlining insolvent enterprises and restructuring their loans - which is a key tool for banks in their battle to reduce nonperforming loans - remains inefficient, according to an analysis issued on Tuesday by the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV).