FinMin calls delinquent mortgage borrowers to apply for ESTIA

Finance Minister, Harris Georgides, has called on all eligible delinquent mortgage lenders to apply for the ESTIA government subsidy scheme aiming to assist defaulted borrowers who pledged their primary residence as collateral to repay their loans.

The government subsidy scheme kicks in tomorrow as the Ministry of Labour which will run the scheme, will start receiving applications. Applications can be submitted until November 15.
 
Eligible borrowers are those who on end-September 2017 had non-performing loans with their primary residences pledged as collateral. The government will subsidize the approved borrowers with one third of their revised repayment plan. The Ministry of Labour estimates that total applications will not exceed 15,000 while approved applications will not exceed 10,000.
 
ESTIA scheme was promoted by the government as an additional tool to assist non-performing mortgage borrowers, as part of the efforts to reduce high Non-performing loans in the Cyprus banking system. Georgiades has described mortgage NPLs as the most difficult group to resolve.
 
“Indeed, (the ESTIA scheme) kicks in and I would like to call on affected fellow citizens to submit their applications for examination, because in this way, I believe, a more tangible assistance will be given to our fellow citizens in need,” Georgiades said on Sunday in Larnaca.
 
Furthermore, responding to questions about the visit to Cyprus of a US bipartisan House of Representatives delegation headed by Chairwoman of the Financial Service Committee Maxine Waters, Georgiades said that the visit was useful.
 
“We always welcome such delegations and such contacts because we are given the opportunity to inform and explain the progress made in the last years and indeed considerable progress has been achieved (on the national anti-money laundering framework) and to assure on the Cypriot authorities’ commitment to continue this effort,” the FinMin added, noting that he was satisfied over Waters’ remarks, because her statement "confirms Cyprus’ new image.”
 
Asked which are the challenges ahead for Cyprus with regard to AML, Georgiades said “this is an international challenge which never ends.” 
 
“We should never believe that such a matter will cease to exist. On the contrary, we must be constantly vigilant to safeguard our country’s image and credibility”, he concluded.

In a statement issued after her contacts, Waters had said that she was “pleased to see that the close cooperation and coordination between the Republic of Cyprus and the United States is beginning to pay off,” adding that “while I would like to see additional progress toward detecting and stopping illicit financial activity, our discussions and meetings with our Cypriot hosts, for which we are grateful, leave us confident that Cyprus is up to the challenge.”