Hercules II: A New Set Of Labours

The Hellenic Asset Protection Scheme, also known as "Hercules", was firstly introduced on 16 December 2019 through the enactment of law 4649/2019 (the HAPS Law). ? new set of amendments was introduced in July 2021 aiming to extend the application of the HAPS Law and assist the Greek banks to reach single-digit percentages of NPLs.

Since the enactment of the HAPS Law and during its initial term, all Greek systemic banks applied for a HAPS guarantee on the senior notes of a series of landmark securitisation transactions in the Greek market. Consequently, the Greek systemic banks' NPL ratios were significantly reduced during the first round of the Hercules programme. Now, a new set of amendments has been introduced aiming to extend the application of the HAPS Law and assist the Greek banks to reach single-digit percentages of NPLs.