ATHENS: Greece will create an asset protection scheme to help major banks struggling to offload billions in bad loans, a government spokesman said Friday, as banking shares tumbled on the Athens stock exchange.

“We have specific plans. Part of them, in addition to speeding up efforts to clear bad loans, is to create an asset protection scheme,” government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos told 24/7 Radio.

“It is nothing more than an umbrella to further protect the bank system,” Tzanakopoulos said.

There are no plans to create a “bad bank” - which would take over non-performing loans from lenders - and the asset scheme will not be backed with public funds, Tzanakopoulos added.

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2018