Greece to scrap some bank fees for retail customers, parliament approves budget

ATHENS - Greece will scrap bank fees and charges for some retail transactions as part of measures to help households cope with a cost-of-living crisis, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Sunday.

His centre-right government also plans from 2026 to double the property tax for about 25,000 real estate properties that banks have on their books and are not in use, as it tries to boost the supply of housing and reduce rents.

Addressing Greek parliament, before it approved the 2025 state budget which puts growth at 2.3% next year, Mitsotakis said that Greece will also legislate a 0.5 euro ceiling on money transfers up to 5,000 euros.

Greece, he said, plans to scrap charges on transactions with the state and utility companies.

He said the time was ripe for interventions and the measures were realistic and in line with fiscal stability.

Lenders' revenues from fees and charges on retail transactions total about 200 million euros annually. The reduction of charges could cost banks dozens of million euros annually, according to analysts.

Greece's four major banks have cut their non-performing loan ratio to below 6%, from 45% in 2017. They registered profits of 3.8 billion euros ($4.00 billion) in 2023 and plan to distribute dividends from 2024 profits for the first time in 16 years.

Mitsotakis, whose party has recently seen a drop in opinion poll ratings, said that an additional 100 million euros from the banking system would fund the renovation and construction of schools.

(Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas and Renee Maltezou; Editing by Ros Russell)