The auction of a property, which is the borrower's commercial property, scheduled for 7 March, has been suspended, following the adoption of the Financial Commissioner's recommendations, Paul Ioannou himself announced on Thursday, noting that the cancellation of this sale is of particular importance, because the property to be sold is a business property, producing strategically valuable activities related to the tourism sector.
The suspension was arranged by the Office of the Financial Ombudsman, in cooperation with APS Debt Servicing Cyprus Ltd (hereinafter "APS"), in its capacity as the legal and duly authorised representative of Hellenic Bank Public Company Ltd (hereinafter "Hellenic").
The said settlement was reached following the adoption of Mr Ioannou's recommendations by APS (and by extension by the creditor, namely Hellenic).
The complaint was submitted to Mr Ioannou's office on 15/2/2022, against APS and Hellenic, and the Commissioner notes as particularly significant the fact that the complainant is a legal person, i.e. a company, which operates in the tourism sector.
In the complaint, the interested party made a strong request to the Financial Commissioner, for the suspension and or cancellation of the scheduled auction of her property and his contribution in order for the Hellenic Bank/APS to reinstate its original recommendation for the repayment of her debts, with the payment of the amount of €245.000 rather than €271,000, an amount which, according to her, was subsequently demanded by the creditors despite the original agreement.
Mr. Ioannou informs that on 21/2/22 he sent a letter to a competent official of the Hellenic Bank/ APS and suggested that the borrower's request for payment of the originally demanded amount of €245,000 (with immediate payment) should be reconsidered, in order to avoid the planned sale of her commercial property.
By letter dated 28/2/22, APS responded to the request, clarifying, as the Commissioner states, that despite the fact that the claims made by the borrower are not accepted on her part, it has nevertheless decided to proceed, for the time being, with the cancellation of the scheduled auction and to set a new date for the sale of the property under discussion.
The company also informs that the cancellation of the auction does not constitute an acceptance of Ms xxxxxxx's claims and the Bank and/or APS fully reserve their rights to set a new auction date for the property in question at a later date.
The Commissioner in his note to the media states that he is obliged to invite (and request) Hellenic to take very seriously into account the circumstances of the owner of the complainant company and the fact that any divestment of the assets of the company in question would constitute a dramatic disinvestment, which is an inhibitor of the overall development effort.
Among many other things, it runs counter to the general interests of the national economy, and of the banking system itself, he says.
As regards the owner's circumstances, he points to the fact that they are shaped by a series of unfortunate events, clearly of humanitarian dimensions.
I also note her heroic efforts to save the property of her five orphaned children, as well as her own. Regardless of this, however, I also urge the complainant to then work with her creditor and APS in good faith to find a definitive solution to the problem, which precludes the possibility of going back to the foreclosure process," Ioannou said.
The Commissioner also notes that because for several months now there has been a serial submission of various requests for cancellation and or suspension of impending real estate sale proceedings, which are considered by the parties concerned as not fair and objective, these requests are now submitted to his Office in the form of complaints and their submission is made under the procedures of the Law.
The Commissioner draws attention to the fact that in many cases, the relevant requests for cancellation and or suspension of an auction are submitted only a few days (and in some cases even the day before the date set for the auction) and this makes it completely impossible to make any effort to achieve the expected result.
We urge interested parties to act in a timely manner, not only to cancel scheduled auctions, but also to settle their obligations through the foreseen restructuring procedures, making maximum use of the Code of Conduct contained in the 2015 Default Management Directive of the Central Bank of Cyprus.
Source: CNA
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