NICOSIA, Sept 7 (AFP) : The Cypriot parliament adopted Saturday a controversial bill to streamline bank foreclosures of bad debts, clearing the way for international lenders to release the next tranche of a 10 billion euro loan.
The emergency vote came a day after a deadline set by the so-called troika of lenders, who bailed Cyprus out last year and had warned that the next tranche, 436 million euros ($565 million), would be withheld unless the bill was passed.
The foreclosure bill was approved by a vote of 47-seven, with one abstention, in the 56-member House of Representatives.
The new law ensures that foreclosures cannot be indefinitely delayed, reducing the process from years to months, establishing procedures for valuating properties and auctioning them.
As for borrowers, it allows them to appeal estimated valuations and obliges banks to try to restructure loans before seeking repossession of homes, while also preventing banks from arbitrarily upping the lending rate.
In a separate vote, MPs decided that the foreclosures bill will not come into effect until the government submits a separate bill on insolvencies, scheduled by the end of the year.
Cyprus parliament adopts crucial foreclosure bill
FE Team | Published: September 08, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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