Kostis Hatzidakis, the Minister of National Economy and Finance, made the announcement regarding the extension of the Hercules program by an additional €1 billion during an inter-ministerial discussion on the details of the TIF measures. According to Mr. Hatzidakis, consultations with the Commission are in full swing, and a positive response is expected soon, while JP Morgan is running the process. 

THE GUARANTEES

It is noted that the €1 billion extension of the programme raises the amount of guarantees that the public sector has given, or intends to give, under Hercules III to €3 billion (from €2 billion). originally approved), while the total guarantees from the three successive Hercules expansions are estimated to be close to €23 billion, out of a total of €19.2 billion guaranteed by the State for 17 securitisation transactions worth €42.8 billion. Based on the same analysis, the outstanding balance of guarantees stood at €17 billion at the end of June, and, as DBRS notes, "the reduction of around €2.2 billion, or 11.5%, indicates that the majority of business plans still need to be worked out.".

THE NEW NEEDS

The Ministry of National Economy has requested approval of the additional amount of guarantees, taking into account the new needs created by the resolution of Attica Bank and Pancretia, the pending issues from the past of the four systemic banks, and new securitizations aimed at reducing the NPL ratio below 3%.

The Hercules III lobby includes:

• The €3.5 billion securitisation of red loans of Attica Bank and Pancreta 
• The Frontier III securitisation of National Bank, worth €620 million 
• The joint securitisation of the four systemic banks Solar, worth €1.2 billion 
•  The securitisation of two portfolios of Alpha Bank (Gaia I and Gaia II), worth €1 billion
• The securitisation of Eurobank's Leon portfolio of €590 million with estimated guarantees of €250 million