Code of conduct under law 4224/2013

Borrowers (debtors/guarantors):

• individuals /professionals; and
• legal persons – micro-enterprises (i.e. businesses with an average annual turnover of up to €1,000,000 in the last 3 fiscal years) that have arrears or show signs of potential arrears.

The following are exempted from the application of the Code of Conduct:

• claims arising from contracts denounced before 1.1.2015
• claims against the borrower that do not exceed, as a total sum of the borrower’s debts to the bank:
  • the amount of €1,000, in the case of borrowers that are individuals
  • the amount of €5,000, in the case of borrowers that are legal persons – micro-enterprises
• claims against legal persons that are not “micro-enterprises”.

In addition, the bank under the current framework, is not obliged to initiate the ARP or may suspend or suspends the already initiated ARP in the following cases:

1. the borrower has applied for out-of-court debt settlement under Article 8, paragraph 1 of Law 4738/2020 or the bank has notified the borrower of an invitation for out-of-court debt restructuring, pursuant to Article 8, paragraph 2 of Law 4738/2020 and for the period until the procedure isterminated as unsuccessful for any reason
2. a debt restructuring agreement has been signed within the framework of the out-of-court debt settlement mechanism procedure, which is not subject to the consent of the Greek State or a Social Security Institution, and the bank is bound by such agreement pursuant to Article 5, paragraph 2 of Law 4738/2020
3. the borrower or the bank or other creditor has applied for the ratification of an agreement on the restructuring of the borrower and such agreement is ratified or concluded, pursuant to Article 41 of Law 4738/2020 or Article 103, paragraph 5 of Law 3588/2007, and is binding on the bank
4. the borrower or the bank or other creditor has filed a petition to declare the borrower bankrupt and for the period until (and if) the petition is rejected
5. the borrower has filed an application seeking to benefit from the procedure provided for by Law 3588/2007 or Law 3869/2010 or Law 4605/2019 or Law 4469/2017, which is pending, or a court decision is pending or the procedure itself is pending, or the borrower has been placed under the procedure provided for in Article 68 of Law 4307/2014, which is pending
6. Article 7, paragraph 3, indent (e) of Law 4738/2020 applies, i.e. the borrower has been convicted, by an irrevocable judgment, of felony tax evasion, money laundering, embezzlement, extortion, forgery, giving and/or receiving bribes, smuggling, defrauding creditors, bankruptcy or fraud. In the case of fraud, if the victim is the Greek State or a Social Security Institution, a misdemeanour conviction is sufficient
7. The borrower is a legal person and is under liquidation
8. there are claims against the borrower who is subject to legal debt enforcement proceedings initiated by third creditors
9. in any other case specifically provided for or which may be specifically provided for by law.

It is noted that:

In the event of  re-launching the Code of Conduct after suspension of its implementation in accordance with the above, the ARP shall continue from the last stage before the suspension, with relevant adjustment of the elements assessed and, possibly, of the proposed solution, if there have been significant changes which may affect the long-term viability of the proposed solution.

On the basis of Article 39 of Law 4818/2021, the digital Platform of the Code of Conduct (Platform) is developed by the General Secretariat for Information Systems for Public Administration (GSISPA) in cooperation with the Special Secretariat for Private Debt Management (SSPDM) and is accessible through the Single Digital Portal of Public Administration (gov.gr-ΕΨΠ).

The procedure of Stages 2 and 4 of the ARP, as described below, will be conducted exclusively via the Platform.

Interested parties may login to the Platform using their personal Taxisnet credentials. The submission, via the Platform, of the application for the above stages of the ARP entails the individual’s or legal person’s authorization to the bank to access, process and cross-check the data of Stage 2, as well as other data held by the bank or obtained from other sources in accordance with Stage 2, for the purposes of collecting the data required for in this stage. It also automatically entails a waiver of the banking secrecy of Article 1 of Legislative Decree 1059/1971 and of the tax secrecy of Article 17 of Law 4174/2013 for the applicant, merely with the objective of collecting the data of Stage 2.

The technical details constituting the functional specifications of the Platform have been defined by a joint decision of the Ministers of Finance, Digital Governance and the Governor of the Bank of Greece (Government Gazette, Series II, No 5909/10.10.2023). You may find the User Guide to the online platform of the Code of Conduct on the website of the Special Secretariat for Private Debt Management (SSPDM).

Stage 1. Communication with the borrower

In case of delay and if there are indications of a possible delay in the payment of the debts, the bank may contact the borrowers to advise them and mutual investigate the causes of such delay.

In case the debts are in arrears over thirty (30) calendar days, the bank will send the borrowers in question a written notice placing them under the ARP, asking them to login, within fifteen (15) working days from the receipt of the above written notice to the Platform for Stage 2 of the ARP, as described below.

Stage 2. Gathering financial and other information

The borrower, after having received the written notice of Stage 1 of the ARP and within the time limit referred to above in Stage 1 of the ARP, is required to login to the Platform and submit the relevant application to the bank accompanied by the necessary supporting documents, following the steps and instructions on the Platform. That application includes a “Standard Financial Statement” (SFS) for individuals or a “Standard Financial Information Form” for legal persons – micro-enterprises, which documents the borrower’s financial data and assets.

It is noted that:
The borrowers can login to the Platform on their own initiative and submit the application to the bank, accompanied by the necessary documents to place themselves under the ARP of the Code of Conduct. The bank, in this case, shall place the borrower under Stage 3 of the ARP to assess their ability to repay their debts.

Stage 3. Assessment of the financial data

After the borrower’s submission of the application via the Platform, accompanied by the required information and supporting documents, has been finalized, the bank shall extract it and in conjunction with the borrower’s financial data and information, collected from other sources (TEIRESIA SA’s archives), shall assess the borrower’s financial state.

To assess the borrower’s ability to repay the debts and to propose a suitable and viable solution for resolution or final settlement, the following indicative factors shall be taken into account:

• the financial state of the borrower and other involved parties (i.e. joint debtors, guarantors), the total amount and nature of the debts (including any debts owed to third parties), previous financial behavior, the anticipated ability to repay the debts, the assessment of the value of any collateral (or other asset(s) of the borrower / other involved parties that could constitute additional collateral).

In addition, for:

• individuals: age, occupation, marital status, health, and the minimum “reasonable living expenses”
• legal persons – micro-enterprises: business plan or restructuring plan of the enterprise, the borrower’s industry growth prospects, and the estimated cash flow.

It is noted that:
The bank may request further information/documentation for the most complete assessment of the borrower’s financial state. The borrower will be informed through the Platform, both about the additional information that may be requested and the deadline for its submission.

Stage 4. Proposing appropriate debt resolution or final settlement solutions to the borrower

Following the assessment of the financial data, the bank submits through the Platform its proposal(s) for the resolution or the final settlement of the debts:

The proposed solution(s) may be:

• a short-term (less than 2 years) resolution:
  This concerns cases where the repayment difficulties are considered temporary or a long-term (more than 2 years) resolution, indicatively involving:
  reduction of the number of installments, increasing of the number of installments and extension of the repayment period, reduction of the interest rate;

• a final settlement solution:
  • This concerns cases where it is not possible to settle debts based on the borrower’s income and assets.
  • It constitutes a modification or termination of the contractual relationship between the bank and the borrower, with the aim of the bank’s claim final settlement against the borrower and may provide for, inter alia: a one-off cash payment, partial fixed payments with the partial write-off of the claims (at maturity), voluntary liquidation of a part of the borrower’s assets, extension of payment of an/some installment (s).

Within (15) working days from the submission of the proposal(s) by the bank, the borrower must take the following steps through the Platform:

• consent to one of the proposed solutions; or
• make a counter-proposal in writing via the platform; or
• refuse to consent to any of the proposed solutions.

It is noted that:
If the borrower makes a counterproposal, the bank, within 1 month from the receipt of the counterproposal, shall:

• accept it; or
• reject it, stating that its original proposal remains valid; or
• submit a new proposal, which shall be the final one.

In the above first 2 cases, the borrower, within fifteen (15) working days shall:

• consent (via the Platform) to the new (final) or original proposal; or
• reject (via the Platform) the new proposal.

Stage 5. Objection review procedure (ORP)

If a borrower is classified as “non-cooperative”, the borrower may object to the procedure set out in the Code of Conduct which led to the classification. The objection may be lodged by the borrower only once.

The borrower, in order to submit an objection, may complete, within fifteen (15) days from the receipt of the non-cooperative classification notification/notice , the standard objection form (which is posted on the bank's website www.optimabank.gr and is also available at the bank’s branches / contact points), accompanied by any required supporting documents to support the objection. 

The borrower shall be informed in writing of the decision of the Objections Committee within two (2) months of the lodging of the objection or of the last date on which any additional information requested by the said Committee was submitted.

The code of conduct sets out the following general principles concerning the borrower’s behavior towards the bank, which determine if the borrower is to be classified as “Cooperative”:

• Provision of complete and up-to-date contact details (e.g. landline, mobile phone number, email address, postal address, home and work address);
• Appointment of a relative or friend to act as a representative (contact person) if the borrower is not available;
• Availability to communicate with the bank and to respond with sincerity to calls and letters from the Bank, in person or through a representative, within fifteen (15) working days;
• Provision of complete and honest information regarding their current financial state within fifteen (15) working days of the day of its change or within fifteen (15) working days of the day on which the borrower has become aware of it;
• Consent to assessing with the bank an alternative proposal for the restructuring of their debts, in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Conduct.

Any failure to comply with even one of the above general principles of the code of conduct may lead to the classification of the borrower as “Non-Cooperative”, resulting risking auctioning of the main residence, as well as the exemption from the beneficial provisions of the legislation in force.

In any case of failure to reach an agreement over a solution involving the resolution or a final settlement, ARP shall be completed and the bank may denounce the contract and take all legal steps to assure its claims, such as: initiation of debt recovery enforcement actions (indicatively: seizure and auctioning of assets), interest on arrears and court costs charges, risk for the borrower to remain liable for any unpaid balance of the debt even after the completion of the enforcement sale procedures of assets).

If the borrower is an individual, the bank evaluates and proposes a solution taking into account the level of the borrower’s Reasonable Living Expenses (RLE).

Reasonable Living Expenses, as defined on the basis of the official methodology for their determination, include nourishing, clothing and footwear costs as well as housing and transportation expenses/ costs for the maintenance and repair of transportation means etc. The estimation of Reasonable Living Expenses is based on the data of the Household Budget Survey (HBS) carried out annually by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT_Reasonable Living Expenses (keyd.gov.gr) and Informative note | Reasonable Living Expenses (keyd.gov.gr)).

Reasonable Living Expenses are indicatively:

• nutrition, clothing and footwear costs;
• housing and transportation expenses/ costs for the maintenance and repair of transportation means;
• costs of using urban and interurban public transport services and costs related to the repair and maintenance of lasting household goods.

You may request assistance and additional information for the implementation of the code of conduct:

• at the bank’s branches
• by phone from Monday to Friday, 8:00-18:00, at 0030 210-8173000.

You may also contact:

• the Borrower Information and Support Offices of the Special Secretariat for Private Debt Management (SSPDM) or consult the corresponding website (http://www.keyd.gov.gr);
• authorized public or private entities of your choice [as referred to in Articles 3 and 4 of Law 4738/2020 “Debt Settlement and Facilitation of a Second Chance and other provisions” (Government Gazette, Series I, No 207)];
• Borrower Service Center (BSC); or
• Borrower Service Office (BSΟ) in the region of your permanent residence.

In addition (for legal persons):

the relevant Professional Chamber or Professional Association or Institute of Institutional Social Partners.

• Information leaflet
• Standard form for lodging an objection