ATHENS, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The Greek government submitted a bill to parliament late on Tuesday on the protection from foreclosure of the primary residence of borrowers who have failed to pay off the loans they have secured on their homes.
This was one of the prior actions required from Athens in the context of the second post-bailout assessment by Greece's creditors.
The new framework contains income and property criteria of eligibility for debtors that narrow the pool of borrowers who can claim protection from foreclosure.
It followed a long period of talks between the government and its creditors and the Euro Working Group, an advisory body to the Eurogroup which consists of finance ministers of the Eurozone.
Greece is now hoping to secure the approval of its creditors at the Eurogroup meeting on April 5 for the disbursement of almost 1 billion euros that the Eurozone central banks have earned from holding Greek bonds.
According to the draft law, eligible mortgage borrowers will have a maximum debt of 130,000 euros (about 146,900 U.S. dollars), their main residence should be valued at 250,000 euros (about 281,000 dollars) or less, and their total property assets outside their primary residence should be valued at up to 80,000 euros (about 90,000 dollars).
The protection system will also apply to corporate loans secured on the borrowers' home, but the value limit for their main residence is set at 175,000 euros (about 197,000 dollars).
Eligible debts will be those dating since December 31, 2018 or earlier.
Deputy Prime Minister Yannis Dragasakis stated last week that the plan was for the bill to be voted into law during this week.
