Daily Press Review - 18/12/2019

Together with Hellenic Bank, we believed in the Human, writing a history filled with Stories of Strength

Last April, through a big campaign, Hellenic Bank launched an amazing social action with the contribution of one human to another at its centre. From the very first day, the response was overwhelming. Hundreds of Intentions of Support were submitted, proving that humanity, solidarity and faith in others and their strength are living values in our society, and that sometimes, all we need is a reason to activate them and bring them to the forefront. After assessing the Intentions of Support, HB proceeded to actively support people in need. At the same time, short video recordings were made of each beneficiary’s “Story of Strength”, which were uploaded online and promoted on TV.



They turned their back on Estia

There are less than two weeks to go until the deadline to submit applications for Estia expires, and the number of borrowers who have applied so far is still way below what had initially been anticipated. By the end of last week, 621 applications had been submitted, while there were 967 applications that were missing certain documents. It was initially estimated that some 12,000 borrowers would benefit from the scheme, with loans totalling €3.5b. Once the deadline expires, borrowers will once again be faced with the threat of foreclosure. Politis writes that the diminished participation highlights the fact that there is a large number of borrowers who are not viable, for whom other solutions need to be sought. By last Friday, 380 fully completed applications for Estia were submitted to KEDIPES (concerning loans totalling around €75,205), roughly 700 to Bank of Cyprus and around 170 to Hellenic Bank. Bankers are expecting the total number of applications to reach around 2,000, though there has been increased activity over the past week. Yesterday, the finance ministry’s permanent secretary, Yiorgos Panteli, told state radio that the ministry was expecting the submission of 10,000 applications. Whatever the case, the non-submission of an application for Estia will no doubt lead to foreclosure. Commenting on its third quarter financial results, Bank of Cyprus said: “The scheme is expected to help spot the non-viable customers for whom alternative solutions are being examined so as to allow us to deal with the rest of the portfolio, mainly through foreclosures; consensual or not.”



Why are borrowers abstaining?

The Estia scheme is purposefully generous, to the point that it contains the moral risk of sending the message that people who are not consistent with repaying their debts are being rewarded, Politis comments. It provides for restructuring of debt, with 1/3 of the loan instalment being funded by the state, in a bid to reduce the large volume of NPLs that have a primary residence as collateral. So why are borrowers abstaining from participating in the scheme, the paper wonders? Market stakeholders tell the paper that for a start, some of them are strategic defaulters, who never intended and do not intend to repay their debt, even though they can afford it. There are also those who are strategic defaulters out of need, which is the vast majority. These are the so called non-viable borrowers, who cannot afford their loan instalments, even if they are approved to participate in Estia. According to calculations, two thirds of borrowers eligible for Estia fall under the category of non-viable borrowers. Finally, there is a third category of borrowers who do not want to reveal their assets.



All the information about Estia

The Finance Ministry is making a last-ditch attempt to attract more applicants for Estia, before the deadline expires on 31 December. It has prepared a Q&A, in which it answers a series of questions, such as whether the scheme will be offered just the once, or if borrowers who face problems again in a year will be provided another one. The ministry says the scheme is only being offered the once. If borrowers choose not to apply for Estia? Then the creditor will have the right to take the necessary measures to recover the debts.



Time-consuming procedures to pay off loans

The banks are making it difficult for borrowers who are trying to pay off their debts, Phileleftheros reports. There are certain borrowers who, after strenuous efforts, have managed to find buyers for their property that has been mortgaged, so that they can use that money to pay off their debt. However, the procedure to pay off the debt and transfer the property to the buyer is so time-consuming it acts as a deterrent. The procedure can take months. On top of that, for the transaction to be completed, the banks keep asking for additional documents and verifications by the borrowers, who in turn are left in fear of the buyers changing their minds. The paper writes that it would be good if the banks accelerate the procedures, as if an NPL is paid off, the first to benefit are the actual banks.



Pavlos cancelled another foreclosure of a primary residence

Financial Ombudsman Pavlos Ioannou announced yesterday that he intervened and managed to avert the foreclosure of a primary residence in Larnaca, which was set to be put to auction yesterday. He went on to urge borrowers who are facing problems with their loans to make use of the institutions and relevant laws to settle their financial problems. Ioannou stressed that he does not have any authority to intervene and cancel foreclosures. The cancellation was down to the good will of the banks, who have the final say in the decision.



Accountants and lawyers under scrutiny

The European Council’s Moneyval committee was pleased with the progress made by the Cypriot banks when it comes to dealing with money-laundering, following its latest assessment on the island. The same cannot be said, however, about lawyers and accountants. According to Kathimerini’s sources who have seen a draft of the relevant report by Moneyval that will be announced in late January, clear reference is made to the methods employed by Cypriot lawyers and accountants, which it says are not in line with international standards. Specifically, it refers to the citizenship-by-investment scheme and how some operated as “Introducers” for foreign clients. The report suggests that the two professions should be brought under a supervisory umbrella of a third party, and not be self-regulated. It said the ‘in-house’ supervision that is carried out is clearly not enough. At the same time, Moneyval praises the Cypriot banks for the measures they have taken to prevent money-laundering.



Facing excessive macroeconomic imbalances

The European Commission has decided to prepare an “in-depth assessment” for 2020, aimed at “pinpointing and evaluating the severity of potential macroeconomic imbalances” in Cyprus, Greece and 11 other member states. Regarding Cyprus specifically, the Commission says that in February 2019, it concluded that Cyprus is facing excessive macroeconomic imbalances, especially with its high rate of NPLs, high private, public and external debt, relatively high unemployment and low potential growth.



Renewal of collective agreement signed

Bank employees’ union ETYK announced that Bank of Cyprus has officially signed the agreement to renew the collective agreement for 2018-2020, which provides for a €230 pay rise for all employees.



Cyprus Drug Squad YKAN on track for unravelling the 645 kg of amphetamine case

According to ANT1 information, YKAN investigators do not rule out the possibility of spending the next few hours at the Central Prison for a deposition from a specific individual. Under extreme secrecy, and with the involvement of just a few people in Cyprus, Australia and Britain for the past six months, the prosecution authorities in the three countries have succeeded in locating and confiscating one of the largest quantities of amphetamine in Sydney.



Drones’ target: Israel and Egypt

According to Phileleftheros, Turkey's attempt to expand it zone of control and monitoring further south of the Cyprus’ EEZ, i.e. the EEZ of Egypt and Israel, appears to be the reason for the transport of drones in the occupied areas. The Turkish government appears to be moving along with the implantation of its ‘Blue Homeland’ doctrine, which is the extended control of the south eastern Mediterranean. Countries like Egypt and Israel and concerned about Turkey’s latest moves and are following developments closely. The transport of drones in the occupied areas and the intention to create a naval base at the old port of Bogazzi Trikomou reveal Ankara’s general framework of intentions.



Energean’s proposal for a gas pipeline from Israel turned down

The government rejects as non-beneficial and outside the state’s plans Energean’s proposal for the transfer of natural gas to Cyprus via a pipeline from the Israeli gas deposit. According to reports, the government remains firm with last Friday’s agreement with international joint venture JV China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Co Ltd for construction of infrastructure for the transport of natural gas to Cyprus and is not considering as beneficial or advantageous the ex post proposal made by Energean for transporting gas from the Israeli deposit.





Altamira receives €32m offer for SODAP property

Alithia republishes information from InBusinessNews’s article with regards to Altamira receiving a €32m-offer for SODAP’s property in Limassol. It is an emblematic complex of industrial infrastructure, which served as the headquarters for SODAP since 1947. The news site’s sources report that the bid was submitted by Russian investors who plan to proceed with a huge development in the area, with multi-storey houses and other high-quality infrastructure. The proposal is currently being looked into and is expected that it will be greenlit before the end of the year. SODAP is located in one of the most popular and central locations of the Limassol Municipality in Tsiflikoudia. Specifically, it is located between the new port and the Limassol marina, while it is only a few minutes away from the My Mall Shopping Centre and the under-construction integrated casino-resort, City of Dreams Mediterranean. The property is comprised of 10 plots, 2 of which belong to the Cooperative Carob Marketing Federation.



Business class to be abolished due to climate change

A Bloomberg article reports on the measures that are being considered for aircrafts, in order to effectively tackle climate change. According to the article, the airlines think they’re being unfairly maligned. They contribute about 2% of global emissions, a fraction of what cars and trucks produce. But unlike road transport, the aviation industry doesn’t have a convincing plan to decarbonize. Europe’s airlines are spending 170 billion euros ($189 billion) on new fuel-efficient aircraft, but these will still spew out carbon. Synthetic fuels are expensive and battery limitations mean emission-free commercial flights are years away. The article further goes on to say that aviation is typical of the trade-offs we’ll have to make to get to net-zero emissions. So far we’ve only done the easy stuff that doesn’t force people to give up much or pay more for cheap products and services. The airlines are lobbying for better air traffic management in Europe’s crowded skies, which would cut the amount of fuel used. But there’s only a certain amount of carbon we can keep emitting before things go from bad to catastrophic. The question of who will have to cut back most on their polluting raises issues around economic growth and fairness: The top 10% of most frequent fliers took more than half of all flights from England last year, while almost half the population don’t fly at all. Airlines don’t even agree among themselves about whether to punish the business lounge elite or the weekend City breakers.  IATA, the airline trade body, boasted this week that more than 4.5 billion passengers will take a flight this year as tickets become ever cheaper. The average return fare, adjusted for inflation and taxes, is almost two-thirds lower than it was 20 years ago. “Flying is freedom,” Iata’s Alexandre de Juniac intoned. But even flying fanatics are no longer convinced that its growth should be unconstrained. Over-tourism in the Mediterranean has brought this to wider attention. When the environmental impact of a business isn’t priced in, there can be such a thing as too much freedom.



GHS guarantee to hospitals by 2023

The Health Insurance Organisation (HIO) will provide a guarantee of all agreed terms until January 2023 with regards to private hospitals, according to Phileleftheros’ sources. At the same time, the HIO will apparently satisfy the hospitals’ demand to separate the doctors’ salaries and the hospitals’ compensation. The Memorandum of Understanding which is expected to be approved by the Organisation’s Board on Friday, will include everything that has been verbally agreed, while it will have five main points. These will include a 7.5% discount on the current charges of private hospitals. Moreover, the HIO is expected to guarantee the viability of the hospitals for 100% of medical acts plus 10% of the acts that are expected to be transferred from the public to the private sector. Moreover, the HIO and PASIN have apparently agreed that within the GHS, the doctors will be able to use the hospitals’ structures without burdening the System.



Information on doctors’ salaries inaccurate, says PASYKI

State doctors’ association (PASYKI) replies to stories that as it reports included misrepresentations and aim to target state doctors. In an announcement it issued yesterday, PASYKI reports that the doctors’ three-hour strike on 13 December finally highlighted the fact that many people know about the financial situation of the Health system, while the papers publish information from sources without cross-checking anything. As the announcement adds, “we have unfortunately witnessed the publication of information that is very far from reality”, adding that reports claiming doctors supposedly earn €110,000, without the necessary analyses and comparisons, create impressions that could even lead to violent behaviour by patients and members of the public against doctors.



Disabled hospitals with departure of doctors

The HIO’s board of directors will be handed the memorandum of understanding which will form the basis of consultations between the organisation and the private clinics, for their integration in the GHS. HIO Head Andreas Papaconstantinou said yesterday that the Board will approve the final text of the MoU, so it can then be sent to private clinics’ association PASIN on Monday, as requested. From then on, if the PASIN leadership also approves the text, the consultations can begin.



Cold and flu rarely strike at same time

Catching a cold when you already have the flu sounds like a nightmare scenario. But fortunately, this doesn't happen very often, a new study finds. Indeed, the researchers found that having the flu actually reduces a person's chances of developing an infection with a common cold virus. For the study, researchers analyzed data from 36,157 patients in Glasgow, Scotland, between 2005 and 2013. Researchers tested each patient for 11 different virus groups. 8 percent were infected with more than one type of virus at the same time. When the researchers looked at individual patients, they found that people infected with influenza A were 70% less likely to also be infected with rhinovirus, compared with patients infected with other types of viruses.



Store opening hours

The Law office of the Republic of Cyprus states that opening hours in retail will be determined through the decrees issued by the Minister of Labour i.e. things will go back to the way they used to be. In particular, this essentially paves the way for the Parliament to amend the legislation on opening hours, as it discovered in practice that determining the opening hours with regulations adopted by Parliament is both problematic and ineffective. Along with the decrees, they will determine the products that will be sold, the services provided in special shops and the boundaries of the tourist areas/zones and the tourist season.